'O^i^ 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/daviddubosegaillOOunitrich 


DAVID  DuBOSE  GAILLARD 


David  DuBose  Gaillard 


^  iWemorial 


COMPILED  AND  PUBLISHED  BY  THE  THIRD 

UNITED  STATES  VOLUNTEER 

ENGINEERS 


SAINT  LOUIS 
1916 


In  Loving  Memory  of 

Our  Regimental  Commander  in  the  Spanish  War 

AND  His  Noble  Wife 

Third  U.  S.  Volunteer  Engineers 


Foreword 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Third  United  States 
Volunteer  Engineers  held  in  St.  Louis  in  May,  1914,  it 
was  voted  to  publish  a  memorial  of  Col.  David  DuBose 
Gaillard,  who  had  been  their  regimental  commander  in 
the  Spanish  War.  The  Committee  appointed  to  discharge 
this  task  collected,  insofar  as  was  possible,  the  various 
articles  and  tributes  that  had  appeared  in  print  following 
Col.  Gaillard's  death  and  received  many  letters  from 
men  who  had  been  associated  with  Col.  Gaillard  in  his 
lifetime. 

The  Committee  was  fortunate  in  securing  the  assist- 
ance of  Miss  Ellen  Bates  of  St.  Louis,  niece  of  General 
John  C.  Bates,  in  editing  the  material  secured.  The 
constant  aid  and  advice  rendered  by  Dr.  A.  E.  Bostwick, 
Public  Librarian  of  St.  Louis,  from  the  inception  of  the 
undertaking  to  the  reading  of  the  final  proof,  has  been 
invaluable.  The  kindly  co-operation  of  Mrs.  Gaillard  was 
a  very  great  aid  to  the  Committee  at  each  Stage  of  the 
work.  The  Committee  begs  to  acknowledge  the  cordial 
assistance  rendered  by  each  of  the  officers  and  associates 
whose  contributions  appear  in  the  following  pages. 

E.  J.  Spencer 
John  L.  Van  Ornum 
W.  J.  Hardee 
John  A.  Laird 
H.  Linton  Reber 
J.  W.  Black 
Luther  Ely  Smith 

Committee 


Table  of  Contents 

Page 

Sketch  of  Col.  Gaillard's  Life 5 

Gaillard  as  an  Engineer— by  Edger  jadwin 23 

Culebra  Cut  (now  Gaillard  Cut) 39 

Gaillard  as  a  Soldier— by  Stephen  M.  Foote 49 

Official  Actions  Taken  upon  the  Death  of  Col. 
Gaillard 55 

Tributes 69 

Editorial  Appreciation 91 

Contemporary  View  of  Col.  Gaillard  upon  his 
Appointment  to  the  Isthmian  Canal  Commis- 
sion (1907) 133 

The  Funeral— by  Stephen    M.   Foote 143 

The  Gaillard  Memorials 151 

Some  Official  Letters  Relating  to  Col.  Gaillard's 
Earlier  Work 161 

Chronology 173 

Bibliography 178 

Index, 183 

List  of  Illustrations 

Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard opposite  page      1 

'84  (West  Point)  Tablet "         155 

Tablet  in  Huguenot  Church,  Charles- 
town,  S.  C "         156 

The  Gaillard  Arms "  8 


DAVID  DuBOSE  GAILLARD 

A  Brief  Sketch  of  His  Life 


.     .     .     ' 'Peace  hath  her  vidtories 
No  less  renown' d  than  War*'  .     . 

— Milton y  '^Sonnet  to  the  Lord  General  CromweH" 


DAVID  DuBOSE  GAILLAED 

That  Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard  should  have 
chosen  a  career  in  the  service  of  his  country  is  but 
the  logical  result  of  his  ancestry.  The  best  tradi- 
tions America  has  to  give  her  sons — pride  of  service 
and  great  abilities  and  success  in  achievement — 
were  his  birthright. 

ANCESTRY 

Colonel  Gaillard  comes  of  distinguished  ancestry, 
both  Huguenot  and  English. 

In  the  records  of  the  family  in  France  we  see 
displayed  the  same  courage  and  fidelity  to  lofty 
ideals  that  they  have  shown  here. 

In  the  Thirteenth  Century  the  name  of  one  an- 
cestor is  found,  with  other  knights  of  Languedoc, 
enrolled  in  the  catalogue  as  *^  Defenders  of  the 
Faith''  under  Raymond,  Comte  de  Toulouse, 
against  Simon  de  Montfort,  emissary  of  Pope 
Honorius. 

Froissart  gives  John  Gaillard  as  at  the  battle  of 
the  Soissons  on  the  Aisne  in  1363.  In  1616  another 
Gaillard  commanded  a  ship  of  the  Protestant  Party 
in  a  battle  oif  the  mouth  of  the  Charente.  He  was 
taken  prisoner,  and  refusing  to  recant  was  con- 
ducted to  Bordeaux  and  there  *^  broken  on  the 
wheel. ' ' 


After  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  in 
1685  many  Huguenots  for  ** conscience  sake''  fled 
from  France,  and  among  those  on  the  **Liste"  we 
find  these  two  of  Colonel  Gaillard's  ancestors: 

*  *  Pierre  Gaillard,  ne  a  Cherveux  en  Poitou,  fils  de 
Pierre  Gaillard  et  de  Jacquette  Jolain''  and 

^^  Isaac  DuBose,  de  Dieppe  en  Normandie,  fils  de 
Louis  DuBose  et  de  sa  f emme  Anne. ' ' 

They  came  in  1686  to  the  English  Province  of 
South  Carolina  and  settled  in  the  Santee  Country. 
To  show  their  allegiance  to  their  new  country,  they 
became  English  subjects;  many  even  translated 
their  names,  which  soon  were  to  be  found  amongst 
the  most  influential  in  the  Colony. 

Three  of  Colonel  Gaillard 's  ancestors  served  in 
Francis  Marion's  Brigade  as  officers  during  the 
Revolutionary  War — his  great -great -great -grand- 
fathers, Gen.  Richard  Richardson  and  Capt.  Peter 
Gaillard  of  the  Rocks,  and  his  great-great-grand- 
father, Samuel  DuBose  of  Santee,  who  was  Marion's 
adjutant. 

Col.  Richard  Richardson,  his  great-great-grand- 
father, a  son  of  Gen.  Richard  Richardson,  served  in 
the  regular  army. 

A  collateral  ancestor,  John  Gaillard,  was  from 
1804  to  1826  in  the  United  States  Senate.  He  was 
five  times  elected  to  the  Senate,  presiding  over  that 
body  for  fourteen  years.  Nine  times  he  was  elected 
president  pro  tempore,  and  three  times  he  filled  va- 
cancies caused  by  the  deaths  of  Gerry  and  Clinton 
and  the  absence  of  Tompkins.  His  service  termi- 
nated only  with  his  death. 

Theodore  Gaillard,  brother  of  John  Gaillard,  was 
educated  in  England.    In  1808  he  was  made  Judge 

8 


THE  GAILLARD  ARMS 


of  the  Courts  of  Chancery,  General  Sessions  and 
Common  Pleas,  and  was  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
South  Carolina. 

Colonel  G^aillard  was  the  fifth  of  his  name  to 
enter  West  Point.* 

During  the  Civil  War  Colonel  Gaillard's  father 
and  six  uncles  gave  their  services  to  their  State,  in 
the  Confederate  Cause.t 

On  his  mother's  side  his  ancestry  is  equally  dis- 
tinguished, going  back  to  the  Huguenot  emigre, 
Isaac  DuBose,  on  the  paternal  side,  and  to  the 
Kichardsons  on  the  maternal. 

Gen.  Kichard  Eichardson,  mentioned  above,  his 
great-great-great-grandfather,  was  an  officer  under 
the  British  in  the  Colonial  service  and  did  such  gal- 
lant service  in  the  Cherokee  wars  in  1760-61  that  in 
the  South    Carolina    Gazette,     Sept.  25,  1762,    we 

*1.  Daniel  S.  Gaillard,  admitted  in  1817,  married  while  on 
leave,  and  was  dropped  Feb.  28,  1818. 

2.  Warren  Gaillard,  admitted  in  1817,  graduated  in  1821  and 
died  in  Pensacola  while  on  duty. 

3.  Daniel  W.  Gaillard,  admitted  in  1817,  did  not  graduate. 

4.  Peter  C.  Gaillard,  admitted  in  1831,  graduated  in  1835. 
Resigned  in  1838.  During  Civil  War  he  was  Colonel  in  Confed- 
erate Army,  serving  with  conspicuous  gallantry  at  Battery  Wag- 
ner, Secessionville  and  at  Morris  Island,  where  his  left  wrist  and 
hand  were  shattered. 

5.  David  DuBose  Gaillard,  admitted  in  1880,  graduated  in 
1884. 


1 1.     Samuel   Gaillard,   his   father,   was   Sergeant   Major   in 
Hampton's  Legion. 

2.  Richard    Gaillard,    Captain   and    Brigade    Quartermaster 
under  General  Gregg. 

3.  Alfred  Gaillard  was  Captain  1st  S.  C.  Artillery. 

4.  Edmund   Gaillard,   Lieutenant  2nd   S.   C.   under  General 
Kershaw,  was  mortally  wounded  at  Gettysburg. 

5.  Isaac   Gaillard   served   in   the   6th   S.   C.    under   General 
Bratton. 

6.  David   St.   Pierre   DuBose,   his   mother's  brother,   was   a 
Captain  in  Hampton's  Legion. 

9 


read  that  as  a  token  of  gratitude  the  citizens  of  St. 
Mark's  Parish  (afterward  Clarendon,  Colonel  Gail- 
lard's  birthplace)  presented  to  him  a  handsome 
service  of  plate. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Congress  and 
of  the  Legislative  Council  in  1775. 

He  served  under  Francis  Marion,  reaching  the 
rank  of  brigadier  general  during  the  Eevolution, 
leading  many  successful  expeditions  against  the 
Tories  and  British.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  war  he 
was  taken  prisoner  and  carried  to  Charleston.  His 
influence  was  so  great  that  Lord  Cornwallis,  fear- 
ing his  opposition,  proposed  to  him  in  the  presence 
of  his  friends  and  family  that  he  either  unite  him- 
self to  the  Eoyal  Standard  with  carte  blanche  as  to 
titles,  offices  and  other  gifts  of  the  Crown,  or  sub- 
mit to  the  alternative  of  close  confinement.  His  re- 
ply is  authentically  reported  to  have  been: 

**I  have  from  the  best  convictions  of  my  mind 
embarked  in  a  cause  which  I  consider  righteous  and 
just.  I  have  knowingly  and  willingly  staked  my  life, 
family  and  property  on  the  issue.  I  am  well  pre- 
pared to  suffer  or  to  triumph  with  it,  but  I  would 
prefer  a  thousand  deaths  rather  than  to  betray  my 
country  or  to  deceive  my  friends. ' ' 

The  threatened  alternative  was  rigorously  en- 
forced, until  with  shattered  health  and  death  very 
near,  he  was  allowed  to  return  home  to  die.  After 
interment  the  British  General  Tarleton  had  his  body 
exhumed,  his  pretext  being  that  he  wished  to  ex- 
amine the  face  of  a  man  of  so  determined  a  charac- 
ter. 

His  son,  Richard  Richardson,  was  in  1776  made  a 
captain  in  the  Regular  Army,  serving  under  Col. 

10 


Thomas  Sumter,  and  was  promoted  to  a  colonelcy 
later  for  '* meritorious  service."  Colonel  Richard- 
son's wife,  Dorcas  Neilson  Richardson,  Colonel 
Gaillard's  great-great-grandmother,  was  noted  for 
her  fearless  bravery  and  patriotism,  and  is  men- 
tioned among  Mrs.  Ellet's  **  Noted  Women  of  the 
Revolution.*'  Among  their  descendants  have  been 
three  Governors  Richardson  and  three  Governors 
Manning  of  South  Carolina. 

This  was  the  ancestry  of  ^^Gaillard  of  Culebra,'' 
this  inheritance  of  bravery,  physical  and  moral, 
lofty  ideals,  with  an  unswerving  devotion  to  duty, 
whether  it  lay  on  the  winning  or  losing  side. 

BOYHOOD 

David  DuBose  Gaillard,  son  of  Samuel  Isaac  and 
Susan  Richardson  DuBose  Gaillard,  was  born  at 
Fulton  P.  0.,  Sumter  County,  South  Carolina,  the 
summer  home  of  his  parents,  September  4, 1859. 

Until  1872,  with  his  parents  and  sisters,  he  lived 
with  his  grandfather,  David  St.  Pierre  DuBose,  at 
his  home  in  Clarendon.  The  fine  character  and  high 
ideals  of  his  grandfather  served  as  an  inspiration 
to  him,  and  he  ever  held  his  memory  dear,  naming 
his  only  son  '  *  David  St.  Pierre, ' '  in  his  honor. 

The  school  there  being  very  poor,  in  1872  he  left 
Clarendon  and  went  to  Winnsboro,  Fairfield  County, 
where  he  lived  with  his  grandmother,  Mrs.  David 
Gaillard,  and  for  three  years  attended  Mount  Zion 
institute.  But  his  family,  like  many  others,  had 
lost  their  all  for  their  loyalty  to  the  Lost  Cause,  and 
in  that  pitiful  struggle  with  poverty,  which  those 
early  years  of  '70  brought  to  the  Southern  people, 

11 


it  became  necessary  for  him  to  do  something  for 
himself. 

His  high  sense  of  duty,  already  developed,  im- 
pelled him  to  accept  whatever  he  could  get,  which 
was  a  position  as  clerk  in  the  general  store  of  Flem- 
ing McMaster. 

There  early  and  late  he  worked,  doing  whatever 
there  was  to  be  done,  always  with  the  same  accuracy, 
zeal,  light-heartedness  and  efficiency  which  he  has 
shown  in  his  later  achievements. 

One  of  the  leading  public  men  in  South  Carolina 
at  that  time  was  R.  Means  Davis  (who  was  in  later 
years  to  become  Colonel  Gaillard's  brother-in-law). 
A  lawyer  by  profession,  his  interest  in  restoring 
educational  advantages  to  the  children  of  the 
stricken  state  was  so  great  that  he  accepted  the 
position  of  principal  of  Mt.  Zion  Institute  in  Winns- 
boro.  He  knew  and  was  deeply  interested  in  young 
Gaillard's  struggles  and  ambitions. 

Professor  Davis's  younger  brother,  Henry,  now 
Col.  H.  C.  Davis,  Artillery  Corps,  U.  S.  A.,  in  1878 
had  successfully  passed  the  examinations  to  West 
Point.  The  following  year,  learning  of  a  competitive 
examination  that  was  to  be  held  for  a  West  Point 
vacancy  from  the  Congressional  district  of 
Hon.  J.  S.  Eichardson  (Sumter),  Professor  Davis 
strongly  advised  young  Gaillard  to  try  for  the 
appointment.  The  boy,  needing  no  urging,  gladly 
took  out  his  neglected  but  not  forgotten  books. 

His  mind  was  brilliant,  taking  in  knowledge  **in 
the  whole''  and  seemingly  already  assimilated,  so 
that  when  the  examination  was  held  under  Professor 
Leland,  a  West  Pointer,  and  one-time  professor  at 
the  Charleston,  S.  C,  Citadel,  he  easily  won. 

12 


Soon  a  cloud  appeared  on  the  horizon  of  his 
hopes,  for  someone  had  raised  the  question  of  his 
eligibility  for  appointment  from  Sumter,  since  he 
lived  in  Fairfield. 

This  question  was  taken  up  by  the  law  firm  of 
H.  A.  Gaillard  and  K.  Means  Davis.  They  wrote 
to  Colonel  Richardson,  who  had  cancelled  the  ap- 
pointment, but  he  was  not  convinced.  Then  R. 
Means  Davis  wrote  to  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  Secretary 
of  War,  and  immediately  came  the  reply  that  the 
minor  son  takes  the  residence  of  the  father.  Con- 
vinced, Colonel  Richardson  renewed  the  appoint- 
ment and  young  Gaillard  left  the  store  and  went 
seriously  to  work  on  his  studies.  His  old-time 
friend,  Prof.  R.  Means  Davis,  now  principal  of 
Mount  Zion,  assisted  him  in  every  way,  even  letting 
him  teach  some  of  the  classes,  laughingly  saying 
there  was  no  better  way  of  studying  geography  and 
history  than  by  teaching  them.  One  of  his  classes 
was  *  *  B ' '  third,  made  up  of  all  the  incorrigibles  and 
ineligibles  of  *^A''  third. 

Later  he  left  Winnsboro,  and  with  money  saved 
from  his  slender  salary  as  a  clerk,  he  entered  a 
preparatory  school  near  West  Point,  at  Highland 
Falls.  These  two  young  men  from  South  Carolina, 
Davis  and  Gaillard,  were  among  the  first  native 
Southerners  to  enter  West  Point  after  the  Civil 
War. 

Gaillard  successfully  passed  the  entrance  exam- 
inations at  West  Point,  and  entered  as  cadet  in 
September,  1880,  although  handicapped  by  lack  of 
preparation.  Nevertheless,  he  was  graduated  No.  5 
in  a  class  of  31,  which  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  classes  ever  graduated  from  the  Point. 

13 


Gaillard,  who  was  tall  and  slender,  and  his  room- 
mate, W.  L.  Sibert  of  Alabama,  who  was  a  giant, 
were  known  by  their  classmates  as  **  David  and  Go- 
liath/' His  own  forename  thus  became  also  a  very- 
appropriate  nickname.  ** David''  and  *' Goliath" 
met  later  in  Panama,  as  members  of  the  Commission. 

OFFICER    IN    THE    CORPS'   OF    ENGINEERS 

Gaillard  was  commissioned  Second  Lieutenant 
of  Engineers  on  September  15, 1884. 

His  first  duty  as  a  commissioned  officer  was  in  the 
Service  School  of  Engineering  at  Willets  Point, 
N.  Y.,  graduating  in  1887.  From  the  Engineering 
School  he  was  sent  to  Florida  on  river  and  harbor 
work,  and  then,  but  seven  years  out  of  West  Point, 
he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  International 
Commission  for  the  establishment  of  the  boundary 
between  the  United  States  and  Mexico. 

In  1887  he  was  married  to  Miss  Katherine  Ross 
Davis  of  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  sister  of  Prof. 
R.  Means  Davis,  the  friend  and  adviser  who  had 
been  so  potent  in  shaping  his  career  for  West  Point 
and  the  Army.  A  son,  David  St.  Pierre  Gaillard,  now 
an  electrical  engineer,  was  born  January  25, 1890. 

A  brief  return  to  regular  duty  in  connection  with 
the  defenses  of  Fortress  Monroe  w^as  followed  by  an 
assignment  in  charge  of  the  Washington  Aqueduct 
and  local  water  supply  of  the  City  of  Washington. 
The  Department  of  State,  mindful  of  the  young 
engineer's  Mexican  work,  again  borrowed  him  for 
service,  this  time  in  Alaska,  upon  the  survey  of  the 
Portland  Channel,  a  mission  of  international  signifi- 
cance. 


14 


COMMANDER  IN  THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  WAR 

When  the  Spanish- American  War  began  in  1898, 
Colonel  Gaillard,  then  a  Captain  of  Engineers,  at 
the  request  of  General  James  F.  Wade,  was  assigned 
April  28  to  duty  as  Chief  Engineer  on  his  staff.  At 
that  time  it  was  thought  that  General  Wade  would 
lead  the  expeditionary  forces  to  Cuba.  A  different 
plan,  however,  was  finally  adopted,  and  General 
Shafter  was  placed  in  conunand  of  the  expedition. 
Captain  Gaillard  was  with  the  forces  at  Tampa 
during  those  trying  days  of  uncertainty,  when  the 
troops  were  embarking  one  day,  in  anticipation  of 
immediate  sailing,  and  disembarking  the  next,  until, 
on  June  7,  1898,  he  was  appointed  Colonel  of  the 
Third  Kegiment  of  United  States  Volunteer  En- 
gineers. Four  days  later  he  accepted  the  appoint- 
ment and  immediately  began  the  difficult  task  of 
securing  officers  and  men  of  the  requisite  skill  and 
ability  for  a  regiment  of  this  character.  So  well 
were  his  plans  laid  that  barely  a  month  elapsed 
before  the  regiment,  whose  members  were  recruited 
largely  from  the  South,  was  mustered  into  service 
at  Jefferson  Barracks,  Missouri.  After  several 
weeks  of  active  military  and  engineering  training 
at  various  camps  in  the  United  States,  the  regiment 
was  sent  to  Cuba  with  the  army  of  occupation.  One 
battalion  went  to  each  of  the  cities  of  Cienfuegos, 
Pinar  del  Rio  and  Matanzas,  and  rendered  services 
of  a  high  order  in  a  great  variety  of  engineering 
fields,  civil,  mechanical,  sanitary  and  hydraulic. 
Eeturning  to  the  United  States  via  Savannah,  the 
regiment  was  mustered  out  at  Fort  McPherson,  Ga., 
May  17, 1899. 

15 


The  regiment  possesses  a  very  unusual  record. 
The  standard  achieved  by  the  commanding  officer 
in  developing  this  body  of  men  is  indicated  by 
Gen.  J.  C.  Bates,  who  in  1905  wrote  to  Colonel 
Gaillard,  **As  Colonel  of  the  Third  Engineers, 
United  States  Volunteers,  you  commanded,  if  not 
the  best,  one  of  the  best  regiments  I  have  ever 
known."  More  at  length.  Gen.  James  H.  Wilson 
comments  as  follows :  *  *  The  regiment  was  made  up 
of  fine  officers,  many  of  whom  were  well  educated 
and  experienced  civil  engineers,  and  of  capable  non- 
commissioned officers  and  men  from  similar  callings 
in  civil  life.  Under  Colonel  Gaillard  the  regiment 
soon  took  shape  as  one  of  the  best  in  discipline,  sol- 
dierly behavior  and  efficiency  in  the  army.  It  served 
at  Jefferson  Barracks,  Mo.,  Lexington,  Ky.,  at 
Macon,  Ga.,  and  afterwards  in  the  Departments  of 
Matanzas,  Santa  Clara  and  Pinar  del  Eio,  Cuba,  for 
nearly  a  year,  during  the  whole  of  which  time  it  rose 
steadily  in  the  esteem  of  its  commanding  officers  as 
a  model  of  what  an  American  Eegiment  should  be. 
It  rendered  most  valuable  service  at  all  times  in 
surveys,  scientific  investigations,  in  local  explora- 
tions and  sanitary  work  at  Matanzas,  Cardenas, 
Colon,  Villa  Clara,  Cienfuegos  and  Pinar  del  Rio  for 
the  lasting  benefit  of  the  nascent  Cuban  Republic. 

**The  behavior  of  this  regiment  and  its  officers 
was  a  constant  example  for  the  admiration  and  the 
emulation  of  the  Cubans  and  to  the  credit  of  the 
intervening  Government.  It  was  absolutely  free 
from  rowdyism,  drunkenness  and  the  rude  assump- 
tion of  authority,  which  too  frequently  character- 
ized the  behavior  of  other  regiments.  It  at  no  time 
assumed  an  attitude  of  domination  or  superiority, 

16 


but  whether  in  camp,  on  the  march  or  on  leave,  al- 
ways behaved  toward  the  Cubans  as  though  it  re- 
garded them  as  friendly  allies  and  -in  no  sense  as 
alien  or  hostile  people.  The  force  and  benefit  of 
this  behavior  can  be  fully  appreciated  when  it  is 
recalled  that  the  Central  Department  of  Matanzas 
and  Santa  Clara  was  not  only  the  first  to  become 
thoroughly  pacified,  but  remained  so  till  the  new 
Eepublic  was  organized,  and  that  no  influence  did 
more  to  bring  about  this  desirable  and  satisfactory 
condition  of  affairs  than  the  worthy  example  of  the 
Third  U.  S.  Volunteer  Engineers  and  its  masterful 
and  accomplished  Colonel.  It  is  the  training  and 
character  imparted  to  such  regiments  by  the  West 
Point  education  and  discipline  that  make  them  so 
creditable  to  our  civilization  at  large  and  point  so 
clearly  to  the  true  means  of  organizing  a  national 
reserve  and  of  utilizing  the  military  strength  of  the 
country  in  case  of  actual  need. 

^^  While  the  foreign  service  of  this  admirable 
regiment  lasted  less  than  a  year,  it  will  be  a  matter 
of  pride  to  both  its  officers  and  men  all  their  lives." 

FURTHER    ENGINEER    WORK— "WAVE    ACTION" 

After  the  regiment  was  mustered  out,  Colonel 
Gaillard  served  for  a  time  as  assistant  to  the  En- 
gineer Commissioner  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
and  in  1901  was  placed  in  charge  of  river  and  har- 
bor improvements  on  Lake  Superior. 

To  this  period  belongs  his  research  into  the  aspect 
of  *^Wave  Action  Upon  Engineering  Structures." 
Gen.  James  H.  Wilson  says  of  this  work: 

*^  Later,  when  stationed  at  Duluth,  in  charge  of 

17 


river  and  harbor  works  in  that  region,  he  threw  him- 
self, heart  and  soul,  into  the  questions  before  him, 
and  soon  found  himself  confronted  with  practical 
and  scientific  questions  affecting  the  stability  of 
engineer  structures  exposed  to  *wave  action,'  that 
had  never  been  satisfactorily  solved. 

**With  characteristic  determination  and  thor- 
oughness he  set  about  the  investigation  of  wave 
action  and  the  theories  applicable  thereto.  He  soon 
discovered  that  the  investigations  of  his  predeces- 
sors in  that  field  had  been  far  from  exhaustive ;  that 
too  much  attention  had  been  paid  to  deep-water 
waves  and  not  enough  to  the  effects  of  shallow 
waves ;  that  the  books  in  the  reference  libraries  were 
confined  in  most  cases  to  special  questions  or  to 
particular  phases  of  wave  action,  or  were  so  widely 
scattered  as  to  be  practically  inaccessible  or  far  toi 
complicated  for  working  engineers. 

^*  While  the  author  claims  but  little  credit  for 
the  mathematical  treatment  of  the  subject,  the  work 
simplifies  the  whole  method  of  procedure  and  con- 
stitutes a  distinct  step  forward.  It  is  recognized  by 
the  profession  everywhere  as  of  the  highest  value 
in  this  complex  branch  of  engineering.  But  this  is 
not  all.  In  his  original  investigations.  Colonel 
Gaillard  not  only  works  out  step  by  step  the  proper 
mathematical  deductions,  but  also  devised  the  orig- 
inal diaphragm  dynamometer  with  gauges  and 
clockwork  mechanism  which  enabled  him  to  make 
correct  observations  of  wave  action  in  all  situations, 
and  to  record  the  same  with  certainty  and  precision. 

**He  finished  his  work  upon  this  subject  while 
stationed  at  Vancouver  Barracks  in  1903,  and  early 
in  1905  it  was  approved  by  the  Chief  of  Engineers 

18 


and  printed  for  the  use  of  engineer  officers.  It  is  a 
monument  to  his  mathematical  talents  and  his 
ability  as  an  engineer." 

ON  THE  GENERAL  STAFF 

When  the  General  Staff  of  the  Army  was  estab- 
lished, Colonel  Gaillard  was  detailed  to  that  body 
and  served  successively  in  the  Department  of  the 
Columbia,  in  the  Northern  Division,  in  the  Army 
War  College,  and  as  Assistant  Chief  of  Staif  and 
Chief  of  Military  Information  Division  in  the  sec- 
ond occupation  of  Cuba. 

AT  PANAMA 

In  1907  the  task  of  digging  the  Panama  Canal  was 
turned  over  to  the  Army.  On  March  22,  Colonel 
Gaillard  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Isthmian 
Canal  Commission.  He  served  as  supervisory  en- 
gineer in  charge  of  dredging  harbors,  of  building 
the  necessary  breakwaters  and  all  excavations  in  the 
Canal  prism,  except  that  incidental  to  lock  and  dam 
construction,  April,  1907,  to  June,  1908;  and  as 
Division  Engineer  of  the  Central  Division,  includ- 
ing the  famous  Culebra  Cut  (now  Gaillard  Cut), 
from  July,  1908,  to  the  date  of  his  death.  A  more 
extended  account  of  his  work  on  the  Isthmus  has 
been  prepared  by  Col.  Edgar  Jadwin  for  this  me- 
moir, and  will  be  found  on  pages  23-38,  under  the 
heading,  *^ Gaillard  as  an  Engineer.'' 

Upon  their  arrival  on  the  Isthmus  in  1907,  Colonel 
and  Mrs.  Gaillard  at  once  established  their  home  at 
Culebra,  in  the  Canal  Zone,  and  adapted  themselves 
to  their  new  environment.    Mr.  Edward  B.  Clark  (a 

19 


classmate  of  Colonel  Gaillard  at  West  Point),  writ- 
ing in  The  St.  Louis  Times,  October  6,  1913,  during 
Colonel  Gaillard  ^s  illness,  thus  described  their 
home : 

**0n  the  hill  at  Culebra  stands  the  residence  of 
Lieut.-Col.  David  DuB.  Gaillard,  the  landslide  con- 
queror and  the  digger  of  the  great  Culebra  Cut. 
The  jungle  had  been  cut  away  when  the  engineer's 
quarters  were  built.  The  place  was  as  bare  as  the 
peak  of  an  Arctic  mountain.  Under  the  directing 
care  and  the  fine  perception  of  Mrs.  Gaillard,  their 
home  in  a  season  or  two  was  embowered  in  tropical 
growth,  with  a  softened  color  scheme  which  I  have 
never  seen  equaled. '^ 

The  world-wide  interest  in  the  great  work  at- 
tracted many  visitors  to  the  Isthmus.  Engineers, 
artists,  public  officials,  travelers  from  home  and 
abroad,  under  Colonel  Gaillard 's  trained  and  kindly 
guidance,  when  his  official  and  professional  duties 
would  permit,  saw  and  understood  the  stupendous 
miracles  that  were  slowly  and  surely  being  wrought 
on  the  Isthmus.  Mrs.  Gaillard  was  a  charming 
hostess  and  many  were  the  visitors  who  enjoyed  the 
hospitality  generously  offered  at  their  home;  and 
the  circle  of  their  friends,  thus  widened,  brought 
back  to  them  a  constant  stream  of  delightful  mes- 
sages. 

ILLNESS  AND  DEATH 

Colonel  Gaillard  came  to  the  United  States  in 
May,  1913,  for  a  short  vacation.  He  returned  to 
Panama,  sailing  on  the  26th  of  June,  arriving  there 
on  July  2d.    He  finished  his  annual  report  and  at- 

20 


tended  to  other  matters  relating  to  Canal  work.  His 
health,  however,  had  begun  to  fail,  and  within  the 
month  he  suffered  a  nervous  breakdown.  On  July 
15,  Mrs.  Gaillard,  who  had  just  arrived  in  Panama 
from  the  States,  noticed  that  he  was  quite  ill,  and 
on  July  26  he  went  into  Ancon  Hospital.  On  August 
8,  with  Mrs.  Gaillard,  his  son,  Pierre,  and  Dr. 
Charles  Mason,  Colonel  Gaillard  sailed  for  the 
United  States.  The  party  arrived  at  New  York  on 
August  16  and  went  at  once  to  the  Henry  Phipps 
Clinic  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital  in  Baltimore. 
The  physician  there  diagnosing  an  intercranial 
growth,  he  went  September  1  to  the  Peter  Bent 
Brigham  Hospital  in  Boston,  where  Doctor  Harvey 
Cushing  operated,  but  with  no  beneficial  results. 
He  returned  to  the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital  October 
1,  and  after  three  months  of  total  unconsciousness, 
died  there,  December  5,  1913. 


21 


GAILLARD  AS  AN  ENGINEER 

By  Edgar  Jadwin,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  Corps  of  En- 
gineers, U.  S.  A. 

[Late  Major  and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Third  U.  S.  Volunteer 
Engineers;  Division  Engineer,  Chagres  Division  (1907-1908),  un- 
der Colonel  Gaillard  in  the  Department  of  Excavation  and  Dredg- 
ing; Resident  Engineer,  Atlantic  Division  (1908-1911),  under  Col. 
W.  L.  Sibert,  in  charge  of  Dredging  and  Shops,  Design  and 
Construction  of  Colon  Breakwater,  and  (1910-1911)  quarrying 
and   transporting  rock   and   sand   for   Gatun   Locks.] 


GAILLARD  AS  AN  ENGINEER 

Colonel  Gaillard  received  the  education  and  train- 
ing usual  for  an  engineer  officer  of  the  Army.  After 
graduation  from  West  Point,  in  the  Class  of  1884, 
and  assignment  to  the  Corps  of  Engineers,  he  took 
the  post-graduate  course  at  the  Engineer  School  of 
Application  with  credit. 

From  then  until  he  reported  in  Panama,  his  ex- 
perience was  unusually  varied.  Part  was  on  river 
and  harbor  work,  some  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  in  Flor- 
ida and  some  on  the  Great  Lakes  at  Duluth,  a  tour  in 
charge  of  the  Washington  Aqueduct  which  carries 
the  water  supply  for  the  City  of  Washington  and 
District  of  Columbia,  a  reconnaissance  and  survey 
on  the  boundary  between  Alaska  and  British  Colum- 
bia, and  still  another  tour  as  a  member  of  the  com- 
mission establishing  the  western  half  of  the  boun- 
dary between  Mexico  and  the  United  States.  At  the 
outbreak  of  the  Spanish  War,  he  was  selected  for 
duty  first  as  an  engineer  officer  on  the  staff  of  a 
Corps  Commander,  and  later  as  the  Colonel  of  our 
beloved  regiment  where,  as  we  all  know,  his  work 
was  of  the  highest  possible  order.  His  river  and  har- 
bor work  was  likewise  of  the  best.  In  connection 
with  the  latter  he  made  time  to  conduct  a  series  of 
original  experiments  concerning  wave  motion  and 

25 


wrote  what  is  now  the  standard  technical  work  on 
that  intricate  subject. 

While  having  a  reasonable  amount  of  the  river 
and  harbor  work  which  forms  so  large  a  part  of  the 
experience  of  most  officers  of  his  age,  he  was,  on  ac- 
count of  exceptional  fitness,  selected  for  many  special 
details.  In  addition  to  his  high  character,  general 
ability  and  indefatigable  industry,  which  were  com- 
bined with  a  sunny  geniality  and  a  joyous  sense  of 
humor,  he  was  possessed  of  a  most  unusual  power 
of  accurate  observation.  These  qualities  made  him 
especially  valuable  for  work  along  untrodden  paths. 
His  experience  on  all  these  lines  developed  his  na- 
tural traits  and  produced  a  man  peculiarly  adapted 
for  the  Isthmian  work. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  Mr.  John  F.  Stevens,  Pres- 
ident Eoosevelt  placed  the  control  of  the  Panama, 
Canal  work  in  the  Army  Engineers,  appointing 
Lieut.-Col.  George  W.  Groethals,  Maj.  D.  D.  Gaillard, 
later  Lieutenant-Colonel,  and  Maj.  W.  L.  Sibert,  now 
Lieutenant  Colonel,  as  members  of  the  Isthmian 
Canal  Commission.  Upon  assuming  control,  Colonel 
Goethals  divided  the  main  construction  work  into 
two  departments,  one,  the  Department  of  Dredging 
and  Excavation  which  was  placed  in  charge  of  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  Gaillard,  and  the  other  that  of  Locks 
and  Dams,  placed  in  charge  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Sibert,  a  former  class-mate  and  room-mate  at  West 
Point  and  a  close  friend  of  Colonel  Gaillard.  The 
Department  of  Dredging  and  Excavation  comprised 
two  dredging  divisions  and  one  dry  excavation  divi- 
sion. The  Pacific  Dredging  Division  handled  the  work 
at  the  south  end  of  the  canal,  from  the  Pacific  Locks 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean ;  the  Colon  Division,  that  from 


the  Gatun  Locks  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean ;  and  the  Cu- 
lebra  Division  the  dry  excavation  work  through  the 
nine  miles  constituting  the  backbone  of  the  continent. 
There  was  at  the  time  no  work  being  done  along  the 
twenty-three  miles  from  Gamboa  to  Gatun  where 
the  course  of  the  Chagres  River  coincides  with  that 
of  the  canal.  Colonel  Gaillard  immediately  planned 
for  the  commencement  of  work  on  this  stretch  and 
arranged  for  the  detail  of  the  writer,  who  had  been 
junior  Lieutenant-Colonel  in  the  3rd  U.  S.  Volunteer 
Engineers,  as  Division  Engineer  of  the  new  organi- 
zation to  be  known  as  the  Chagres  Division. 

One  of  the  first  things  the  writer  heard  on  the 
Isthmus  was  a  discussion  by  Colonel  Gaillard  of  the 
high  costs  of  excavation  on  the  canal  and  a  state- 
ment of  his  desire  to  reduce  them.  He  referred  to 
the  opinion  held  by  some  that  the  French  machinery 
was  of  little  value.  With  his  quick  perception  and 
keen  observation  he  had  seen  that  this  sentiment 
might  go  too  far  and  that  if  practicable,  greater  use 
should  be  made  of  the  French  machinery.  He  point- 
ed out  the  great  quantity  of  excavation  which  had 
been  done  by  the  French,  24,000,000  cubic  yards  in 
Culebra  Cut  alone,  according  to  French  records. 
M.  Bunau-Varilla  gives  the  total  excavation  in  any 
one  month  on  the  canal  under  the  French  as  1,424,- 
000  cubic  yards  in  January,  1886.  These  quantities 
seem  larger  even  now  when  one  recalls  how  deficient 
the  French  sanitary  system  must  have  been  com- 
pared to  the  one  which  was  organized  and  main- 
tained by  General  Gorgas  and  which  rendered  our 
continuity  of  effort  possible. 

Colonel  Gaillard  suggested  that  the  Chagres  Divi- 
sion would  afford  a  field  in  which  work  could  be  start- 

27 


ed  more  quickly  by  making  use  of  the  French  machin- 
ery than  by  waiting  for  the  acquisition  of  new  ma- 
chinery, and  that  sufficiently  low  costs  of  excavation 
per  cubic  yard  could  probably  be  obtained  to  justify 
such  a  line  of  action.  When  the  situation  was  de- 
veloped his  ideas  on  the  subject  were  found  to  have 
been  correct.  While  practicable  to  secure  for  the 
excavation  a  dozen  American  steam  shovels,  only 
three  modem  locomotives  could  be  obtained.  Most 
of  the  hauling  was  therefore  done  by  forty-six  old 
French  locomotives.  A  large  percentage  of  the 
equipment  also  consisted  of  old  French  cars. 

Nevertheless,  in  six  months  from  the  time  work 
was  started  the  cost  per  cubic  yard  of  excavation 
on  this  division  was  less  than  on  the  Culebra  Divi- 
sion, where  the  more  modern  plant  had  long  been  in 
use.  While  many  elements  of  course  contributed  to 
this  result  the  fact  remains  conspicuous  that  Colonel 
Gaillard  had  promptly  recognized  the  key  of  the  sit- 
uation. It  seems  more  than  appropriate  that  so  sub- 
stantial a  tribute  to  the  value  of  the  French  work 
as  well  as  the  essential  triumph  over  Culebra  Cut 
should  be  directed  by  an  American  with  French 
blood  in  his  veins. 

On  July  1,  1908,  Colonel  Goethals  effected  a  gen- 
eral re-organization  of  the  force  by  which  the  depart- 
ments were  abolished,  the  small  divisions  consoli- 
dated and  the  construction  work  re-divided  into 
three  general  geographical  divisions,  one  comprising 
the  Atlantic  Locks  and  the  work  north  of  them  with 
Colonel  Sibert  as  Division  Engineer,  another  the 
Pacific  Locks  and  the  work  south  of  them  with  Mr. 
Sidney  B.  Williamson  (at  one  time  a  Captain  in  the 
3rd  U.S. Volunteer  Engineers)  as  Division  Engineer, 

28 


and  the  third  the  excavation  work  between  the  Atlan- 
tic and  Pacific  locks.  This  was  called  the  Central 
Division  and  Colonel  Gaillard  was  appointed  its  Divi- 
sion Engineer.  The  writer  was  at  that  time  trans- 
ferred to  the  Atlantic  Division  under  Colonel  Sibert's 
orders  and  placed  in  charge  of  the  dredging  and  shops 
constituting  the  old  Colon  Division,  in  addition  to  the 
design  and  construction  of  the  Colon  breakwater, 
and  still  later  of  the  supply  of  sand  and  stone  for 
the  Gatun  Locks.  Enough  was  seen  of  Colonel  Gail- 
lard's  work,  however,  to  know  that  he  was  indefat- 
igable in  his  efforts  to  secure  the  best  possible  re- 
sults, that  while  ever  just  and  considerate  of  those 
working  for  him,  he  gave  the  closest  attention  to 
every  detail  of  his  work  and  was  continually  en- 
gaged in  analysis  of  the  cost  of  one  or  another  of 
the  items  of  his  work  and  the  development  of  some 
improvement  in  plan  or  service. 

An  incident  indicating  his  close  personal  observa- 
tion may  not  be  inappropriate.  The  question  was 
raised  whether  certain  rock  would  stand  or  disinte- 
grate if  used  as  a  covering  for  part  of  the  Gatun 
Dam,  and  Major  Hoffman  in  charge  of  the  Gatun  Dam 
work  under  Colonel  Sibert  had  been  making  an  in- 
vestigation. A  year  later  Major  Hoffman  stated  that 
although  he  had  asked  many  men  he  had  secured 
very  little  positive  information  until  he  asked  Col- 
onel Gaillard.  He  was  much  impressed  by  the  fact 
that  the  latter  at  once  directed  his  attention  to 
shovel  marks  on  the  rock  of  an  old  tunnel  made  by 
the  French  as  possibly  the  best  evidence  to  be  ob- 
tained on  the  Isthmus  of  the  effect  of  the  weather 
upon  rock  of  the  character  in  question. 

As  previously  indicated,  this  faculty  of  close  ob- 

29 


servance  and  analysis  made  Colonel  Gaillard  pre- 
eminently the  man  for  cutting  the  backbone  of  the 
continent.  The  work  was  making  good  progress  when 
he  took  hold  of  it  and  therefore  there  was  no  room  for 
^he  development  of  many  new  engineering  princi- 
ples. The  main  problems  rather  resulted  from  the 
magnitude  of  the  work.  The  great  service  to  be  ren- 
dered was  to  advance  and  accomplish  it  more  rapidly 
and  more  cheaply.  No  man  in  the  United  States 
could  have  done  this  better  than  Colonel  Gaillard. 

The  central  division  extended  from  Pedro  Miguel 
Locks  to  Gatun  Dam  and  Locks,  a  distance  of  thirty- 
three  miles,  and  embraced  the  entire  summit  level  of 
the  Panama  Canal.  The  Culebra  Cut  embraced  the 
greater  part  of  the  dry  excavation  in  the  Division 
and  is  nine  miles  in  length,  of  which  a  little  over 
seven  and  one-half  miles  has  a  bottom  width  of  three 
hundred  feet  and  a  depth  of  forty-five  feet.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  €anal  has  a  width  in  excess  of  three 
hundred  feet. 

The  engineering  problems  connected  with  the 
work  of  the  division  were  handled  by  the  engineer- 
ing force,  under  a  resident  engineer.  In  addition, 
there  was  a  superintendent  of  transportation,  who 
handled  all  transportation  matters,  and  a  superin- 
tendent of  the  water  and  air  service,  who  kept  all 
shovels,  drills,  pumps,  etc.,  connected  with  water  and 
air  mains.  The  work  involved  may  be  inferred  from 
the  fact  that  over  1,000  loaded  and  empty  trains  have 
been  handled  in  the  Central  Division  in  a  nine-hour 
day,  and  an  average  of  two  miles  of  water  and  air 
pipe  were  laid  and  two  miles  taken  up  for  every 
working  day  in  the  year. 

The  maximum  monthly  output  under  American 

30 


management  in  the  Central  Division  before  Colonel 
Gaillard  assumed  charge  was  815,270  cubic  yards; 
the  figures  in  March,  1909,  were  2,054,088  cubic 
yards — an  increase  of  152  per  cent.  The  greatest 
number  of  shovels  in  use  at  one  time  in  the  Culebra 
Cut  alone  was  43. 

To  handle  this  amount  of  material  required  the 
services  of  115  locomotives  and  2,000  cars,  giving 
about  160  loaded  trains  per  day  to  the  dumps,  which 
on  the  average  were  about  twelve  miles  distant;  the 
haul  one  way  varying,  however,  from  about  one  to 
thirty-three  miles.  To  serve  properly  the  trains  and 
shovels  employed  in  excavation  work  in  the  cut,  al- 
though the  latter  is  less  than  nine  miles  in  length, 
about  100  miles  of  track  were  required,  or  an  aver- 
age of  over  nine  parallel  tracks  at  all  points  of  the 
cut.  Reductions  in  transportation  expense  were 
made  by  improving  tracks,  decreasing  grades,  in- 
creasing the  number  of  cars  in  a  train,  and  l)y  im- 
provements in  organization.  He  replaced  the  old 
system  under  which  trains  generally  waited  at  shov- 
els until  loaded,  by  a  new  one  under  which  the  trains 
while  in  motion  were  partially  loaded  as  they  passed 
the  various  shovels  and  stopped  to  have  their  load 
completed  at  the  last  shovel  on  the  line.  Whereas 
under  the  old  system  the  slowest  shovel  sometimes 
determined  the  rate  for  all,  under  the  new  system 
the  trains  were  kept  as  much  as  possible  with  the 
shovels  which  were  ready  to  give  the  largest  output, 
whether  as  a  result  of  being  in  best  condition,  best 
operated,  or  working  in  the  best  material.  When  he 
took  the  work,  a  part  of  the  transportation  system 
considered  very  important  was  a  large  yard  near 
Las  Cascadas,  to  which  a  large  part  of  the  loaded 

31 


cars  were  hauled  from  the  cut  and  later  to  the  dumps. 
Empties  were  similarly  treated.  After  a  careful  an- 
alysis of  the  operation  of  the  yard  he  concluded  that 
while  such  a  yard  undoubtedly  had  its  place  in  a 
large  transportation  system  handling  miscellaneous 
freight  for  many  destinations,  its  net  result  where 
the  principal  commodity  was  excavated  material 
was  to  delay  rather  than  to  accelerate  the  work.  It 
was  soon  eliminated  and  trains  went  through  from 
the  shovel  to  the  dump. 

The  maximum  number  of  drills  in  use  at  any  time 
in  the  Culebra  Cut  was  377,  of  which  221  were  tripod 
drills  and  156  were  well  drills.  With  these  drills,  an 
aggregate  of  over  90  miles  of  holes  have  been  drilled 
in  a  single  month. 

In  the  earlier  stages  of  the  work,  accidents  result- 
ing from  the  use  of  dynamite  were  unfortunately 
not  uncommon,  and  one  of  the  first  steps  taken  un- 
der Colonel  Gaillard's  management  was  to  require  a 
strict  inspection  of  the  handling  of  dynamite  and  the 
loading  and  firing  of  holes.  In  spite  of  every  pre- 
caution, it  was  found  impossible  to  avoid  a  consid- 
erable number  of  miss-fires,  and  a  study  was  made, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  electrical  and  mechanical 
engineer,  with  a  view  of  endeavoring  to  locate  defi- 
nitely the  cause  of  these  miss-fires. 

As  a  result  of  a  long  series  of  experiments,  it  was 
conclusively  shown  that  by  far  the  greater  number 
of  miss-fires  were  due  to  the  fact  that  the  holes  had 
been  wired  **in  series.''  When  the  fuses  were  con- 
nected '  ^  in  parallel ' '  and  fired  by  means  of  the  ordi- 
nary electric  light  current,  not  a  single  failure  of  a 
fuse  was  noted  in  a  test  comprising  several  hundred 
fuses. 

32 


The  results  of  this  investigation  were  so  convinc- 
ing that  all  holes  were  later  wired  '  ^  in  parallel ' '  and 
miss-fires  were  almost  wholly  eliminated,  although  it 
is  scarcely  necessary  to  state  that  accidents  from 
individual  carelessness,  from  flying  stones,  or  from 
other  causes,  will  always  occur  in  the  extensive  use 
of  dynamite,  no  matter  what  precautions  may  be 
adopted.  It  is,  however,  indicative  of  the  efficiency 
obtained  to  state  that  although  during  three  and  a 
quarter  years,  in  work  under  Colonel  Gaillard's 
charge,  over  20,000,000  pounds  of  dynamite  were 
used  in  blasting,  only  eight  men  were  killed,  three 
of  whom  failed  to  go  to  a  safe  distance  and  were 
killed  by  flying  stones,  and  two  by  miscounting  the 
number  of  shots  which  had  gone  off  in  a  ^Mobe'* 
group,  and  approaching  the  group  before  the  last 
shot  had  exploded. 

The  amount  of  dynamite  in  tons  of  2240  pounds  in 
the  Central  Division  for  the  months  of  August,  Sep- 
tember, and  October,  for  the  years,  1908,  1909,  and 
1910,  was  as  follows: 

1908 974 

1909 953 

1910 543 

The  amount  of  rock  excavated  during  the  same 
period  was: 

1908 2,977,415 

1909 3,347,301 

1910 3,369,064 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  only  56  per  cent  as 
much  dynamite  was  used  in  1910  as  for  the  same 
months  in  1908,  and  57  per  cent  as  much  as  was  used 
for  the  same  months  in  1909.    The  amount  required 

33 


was  latterly  reduced  to  one  pound  of  dynamite  to 
about  every  two  and  a  quarter  yards  of  material 
blasted. 

The  total  saving  in  cost  of  dynamite  for  August, 
September,  and  October,  1910,  as  compared  with  cor- 
responding months  in  1908,  was  431.03  tons  (2240 
lbs.)  which  amounted  in  value  to  $115,939.00.  Be- 
sides the  first  cost  of  the  dynamite  there  was  also  the 
saving  in  the  cost  of  handling,  loading,  and  shooting. 

Much  has  been  heard  of  the  Panama  slides.  Dur- 
ing the  early  stages  of  the  work  by  the  United  States, 
there  was  but  little  movement  of  material  into  the 
canal  from  outside  of  the  prism,  and  when  such 
movement  began,  it  was  due  almost  entirely  to  slides 
caused  by  the  slipping  of  the  top  layer  of  clay  or 
earth  upon  a  smooth  sloping  surface  of  some  harder 
material,  the  layer  of  slipping  clay  in  such  cases 
varying  in  thickness  from  10  to  40  feet. 

The  largest  slide  of  this  character  is  the  Cucaracha 
slide  on  the  east  bank  of  the  canal,  just  south  of  Gold 
Hill,  which  embraced  a  total  area  of  over  forty-seven 
acres.  This  slide  extends  up  the  bank  for  a  distance 
of  some  1,900  feet  from  the  axis  of  the  canal,  and 
originally  had  an  approximate  slope  of  about  one 
vertical  to  seven  horizontal.  It  first  began  to  give 
serious  trouble  in  the  fall  of  1907,  and  moved  com- 
pletely across  the  canal,  the  toe  of  the  slide  advanc- 
ing for  the  first  ten  days  at  a  uniform  rate  of  about 
14  feet  in  twenty-four  hours.  All  tracks  in  its  path 
were  covered  or  destroyed  by  its  resistless  motion, 
and  the  moving  material  actually  rose  up  on  the  west 
bank  to  a  height  of  about  30  feet.  Its  movement  was 
singularly  like  that  of  a  glacier.  It  was,  in  fact,  a 
tropical  glacier — of  mud  instead  of  ice — and  stakes 

34 


aligned  on  its  moving  surface  and  checked  every  24 
hours  by  triangulation,  showed  a  movement  which 
Colonel  Gaillard  stated  to  be  in  every  respect  sim- 
ilar to  stakes  on  moving  glaciers  in  Alaska  upon 
which  he  had  made  observations  in  1896. 

As  the  depth  of  the  cut  increased  and  the  lateral 
support  formerly  afforded  by  the  excavated  material 
was  removed,  the  great  pressure  of  the  superincum- 
bent banks  caused  the  crushing  and  squeezing  out  of 
underlying  layers  of  soft  material,  with  a  breaking, 
shearing  and  settling  of  the  high  banks  and  a  corre- 
sponding elevation  or  ' '  humping  *  *  of  the  bottom.  In 
later  years,  slides  or  breaks  of  this  character  greatly 
exceeded  those  of  the  type  represented  by  the  Cuca- 
racha  slide.  The  largest  slide  of  this  last  type  is  on 
the  west  bank  of  the  canal  at  Culebra,  and  covered 
an  area  of  75  acres.  Up  to  October  1st,  1912,  over 
7,500,000  cubic  yards  of  material  had  been  removed 
from  this  slide  and  fully  2,000,000  cubic  yards  then 
remained  to  be  removed. 

As  the  result  of  several  years  experience,  slides 
and  breaks  were  handled  with  less  inconvenience 
and  interruption  to  other  work  than  was  the  case  in 
the  earlier  stages  of  operation.  Yet,  notwithstand- 
ing increased  efficiency  in  handling  them,  they 
caused  continual  annoyance  and  inteiTuption  to 
work,  and  decreased  the  output  and  complicated  the 
engineering  problem;  and  while  they  presented  no 
insurmountable  obstacles  to  the  completion  of  the 
work  in  the  Culebra  Cut,  yet  they  were  ever  present 
sources  of  annoyance,  hindrance  and  expense.  Their 
effects  were  especially  felt  in  the  destruction,  dis- 
placement or  covering  up  of  tracks,  interference 
with  drainage  and  air  and  wat^r  mains,  requiring 

35 


large  gangs  to  be  kept  continually  at  work  in  their 
vicinity. 

A  conservative  estimate  indicates  that  within  the 
8.8  miles  of  the  Culebra  Cut,  fully  200  miles  of  track 
have  been  destroyed,  covered  up  or  have  had  to  be 
built,  solely  on  account  of  slides;  and  in  one  locality 
for  nearly  two  years  tracks  had  to  be  maintained  on 
material  moving  at  a  rate  varying  from  one  or  two 
inches  to  several  feet  per  day,  necessitating  the  con- 
stant presence  of  a  track  gang  in  order  to  permit  the 
uninterrupted  passage  of  trains. 

It  will  be  seen  from  what  precedes  that  when  the 
Culebra  Cut  shall  have  been  completed,  not  less  than 
22  per  cent  of  all  material  excavated  by  the  United 
States  will  have  been  removed  on  account  of  slides, 
and  that  they  will  have  added  twenty-one  or  twenty- 
two  million  cubic  yards  to  the  amount  of  material 
to  be  excavated. 

During  the  period  from  April  12,  1907,  to  June  1, 
1913,  the  total  amount  of  material  excavated  under 
the  direct  supervision  of  Colonel  Gaillard  aggre- 
gated 104,800,873  cubic  yards;— about  half  the  total 
amount  of  excavation  (212,504,138)  estimated  as 
necessary  to  complete  the  entire  canal.  Of  this 
amount  over  88,000,000  cubic  yards  have  been  ex- 
cavated from  the  great  Culebra  Cut,  including  nearly 
19,000,000  cubic  yards  removed  from  the  unprece- 
dented slides  which  did  so  much  to  complicate  and 
increase  the  difficulties  of  the  work. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  5,419,751  cubic  yards  of 
rock  were  supplied  and  hauled  to  Gatun,  a  distance 
of  over  30  miles,  for  use  in  the  construction  of  the 
Gatun  Dam. 

For  constructing  the  road-bed  of  the  relocated 


Panama  Eailroad  4,471,187  cubic  yards  of  material 
were  furnished  and  hauled  an  average  distance  of 
about  8  miles,  and  151,580  cubic  yards  of  hard  rock 
were  hauled  from  the  Culebra  Cut  to  the  Mole  at 
Colon,  a  distance  of  35  miles. 

A  dike  to  divert  the  currents  from  the  approach 
channel  dredged  by  the  Pacific  Division  to  the  Bal- 
boa Docks,  has  been  constructed  from  the  mainland 
to  Naos  Island  across  a  part  of  Panama  Bay.  This 
dike  is  3.26  miles  in  length  and  contains  1,121,233 
cubic  yards  of  rock. 

For  use  on  the  dam  at  Miraflores,  and  in  making 
the  back  fill  for  the  Pedro  Miguel  Lock,  the  Pacific 
Division  was  furnished  with  175,125  cubic  yards  of 
material  from  Culebra  Cut.  To  assist  the  Pacific 
Division  in  expediting  the  work  being  done  on  the 
Miraflores  spillway  45,695  cubic  yards  of  material 
were  excavated  there  by  the  Central  Division. 

The  money  value  of  Colonel  Gaillard  ^s  work  to  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  may  be  best  re- 
alized from  the  record  of  the  cost  of  excavation  in 
the  Central  Division,  which  includes  the  great  Cule- 
bra Cut,  and  of  which  he  took  charge  on  April  12, 
1907. 

Exclusive  of  General  and  Administrative  Expense 
above  the  division,  and  plant  arbitrary,  the  division 
costs  of  excavation  were  as  follows:  1908,  71  cents; 
1909,  55  cents;  1910,  54  cents;  1911,  49  cents;  1912, 
47  cents. 

The  annual  excavation  has  been  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  17,000,000  cubic  yards.  A  saving  of  one  cent 
per  cubic  yard  means,  therefore,  for  the  year,  a  sav- 
ing of  $170,000.00  to  the  Government.  Had  the  1912 
excavation  cost  the  same  as  that  of  1910  per  cubic 

37 


yard,  the  expenditure  would  have  been  increased  by 
$1,190,000  for  the  year.  The  conditions  were  essen- 
tially the  same,  and  the  saving  can  be  attributed  to 
excellent  management  of  every  detail  that  affects 
cost. 

While  this  great  work  of  Colonel  Gaillard's  re- 
sulted in  marked  saving  to  the  Government  it  was 
followed  by  a  nervous  breakdown  on  the  eve  of  the 
completion  of  his  work. 

The  financial  value  of  his  work,  however,  is  as 
nothing  compared  with  the  moral  value  of  his  clean 
life  and  the  far-reaching  influence  for  right  living, 
thinking  and  working  which  has  been  impressed  on 
so  many  men.  He  gave  himself  completely  to  his 
work  and  has  left  a  record  with  a  ring  which  must 
appeal  peculiarly  to  members  of  his  beloved  regi- 
ment, to  his  devoted  family,  his  class,  his  Alma 
Mater,  the  Corps  of  which  he  was  an  honored  mem- 
ber, the  Army,  the  country,  to  all  real  men,  and  to  a 
just  and  omniscient  God.    (May,  1914.) 


38 


CULEBRA  CUT 

(Now^^GaillardCut'') 

(Extracts  from  articles  and  papers.) 


CULEBRA  CUT 

The  magnitude  of  the  task  of  digging  through  the 
backbone  of  the  Continent  at  Culebra  was  more 
thoroughly  appreciated  by  engineers  and  scientists 
than  by  the  general  public  and  press,  who  impatient- 
ly insisted  upon  ' '  seeing  the  dirt  fly. '  ^  A  few  of  the 
many  critical  descriptions  that  have  been  written  of 
the  work  at  Culebra  are  given  herewith : 

(From   '84   Class   Bulletin,   West   Point,   July   1,   1914.) 

Culebra  Cut  was  the  third  gigantic  job  for  the 
engineering  genius  of  the  canal  builders  and  the  big 
man  on  it  was  Col.  D.  D.  Gaillard.  This  piece  of 
excavation  alone  cost  more  than  eighty  million  dol- 
lars ;  for  over  a  hundred  million  cubic  yards  of  dig- 
ging was  required.  Much  of  this  was  excavation 
through  solid  rock.  A  railroad  would  have  tunneled 
through  it,  but  the  canal  had  to  have  an  open  cut 
nearly  nine  miles  long  through  a  mountain  range. 

The  spectacle  of  six  thousand  men  in  Culebra  Cut 
operating  forty-four  steam  shovels  at  one  time  and 
sending  out  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  trainloads 
of  debris  in  a  single  day  attracted  engineering  ex- 
perts from  Europe  and  even  from  Japan.  Without 
exception  this  great  organization  of  Gaillard 's  was 
the  most  perfect  ever  seen  where  so  much  machinery 
and  so  many  men  were  involved. 

41 


The  cut  is  three  hundred  feet  wide  at  the  bottom 
and  averages  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  depth. 
The  task  of  excavation  was  vastly  increased  when 
the  sides  began  to  cave  in.  To  the  average  reader 
of  newspaper  cablegrams  these  *  *  slides ' '  were  merely 
loose  dirt  slipping  down  the  embankment;  but  the 
figures  of  two  out  of  twenty-five  slides  will  give  a 
more  accurate  conception.  In  one  slide  on  the  west- 
ern bank  seventy-five  acres  of  earth  glided  off  into 
the  canal  prism,  and  on  the  eastern  bank  fifty  acres 
did  the  same  thing.  Before  these  two  slides  oc- 
curred Culebra  Cut  was  eight  hundred  and  forty 
feet  wide  at  the  top  at  this  point;  after  the  slides  it 
was  two  thousand  feet  wide. 

(From  "Battling  With  the  Panama  Slides,"  by  William  Joseph 
Showalter,  in  The  National  Oeographic  Magazine  for  February, 
1914.) 

The  weapons  used  by  Nature  in  her  efforts  to 
confound  the  plans  of  the  canal  engineers  have  been 
slides  and  breaks  in  the  banks  of  the  canal,  and 
effective  weapons  indeed  have  they  proven.  How, 
with  them,  she  has  stood  between  the  canal  army 
and  the  completion  of  the  task  to  which  it  addressed 
itself,  constitutes  the  most  thrilling  episode  in  the 
history  of  canal  engineering. 

Over  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  ground 
lying  outside  of  the  intended  banks  of  the  canal,  and 
containing  over  thirty  million  cubic  yards  of  ma- 
terial, have  swept,  with  silent  but  terrific  force, 
down  into  the  canal.  Now  this  onslaught  has  de- 
moralized an  entire  railroad  system ;  now  it  has  put 
the  compressed  air  and  water  systems  out  of  com- 
mission; now  it  has  bottled  up  one  end  of  Culebra 

42 


Cut  with  an  avalanche  of  debris;  now  it  has  im- 
prisoned dirt  trains  and  wrecked  steam  shovels. 
But  with  all  the  wreck  and  ruin  and  chaos  there 
have  been  men  with  wills  of  iron  who  have  met 
each  new  situation  with  a  new  spirit  of  determina- 
tion; men  who  have  never  permitted  any  catas- 
trophe to  turn  them  aside  from  their  ultimate  pur- 
pose; men  whose  achievements  in  the  face  of  un- 
precedented difficulties  make  a  story  as  inspiring  as 
anything  in  human  history. 

No  one  who  failed  to  visit  the  Isthmus  during 
the  construction  period  can  understand  the  full  im- 
port of  the  coming  of  these  slides  into  Culebra 
Cut.  With  each  passing  year  they  have  renewed 
and  redoubled  their  attacks  on  the  canal  plans. 
They  seem  to  be  maneuvered  by  the  hand  of  some 
great  marshal  and  sent  forth  to  the  fray  in  every 
way  calculated  to  put  the  canal  engineers  to  dis- 
comfiture. 

Now  they  are  quiescent,  attempting  to  lull  the 
engineers  into  a  false  security;  now  they  make  a 
feint,  stopping  short  of  an  actual  conflict ;  now  they 
come  in  the  dead  of  night,  spreading  chaos  and  dis- 
rupting everything  in  whatever  direction  they 
move ;  now  they  set  up  the  appearance  of  being  ren- 
dered thoroughly  harmless  by  allowing  dikes  of 
basalt  to  peep  out,  which  seem  to  tie  them  to  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  only  to  destroy  the  hopes 
which  these  dikes  arouse  in  the  hearts  of  the  be- 
siegers, by  shearing  them  off  as  if  they  were  but 
pipe  stems,  and  then  flowing,  unrestrained,  into  the 
cut.     .     .     . 

It  is  no  wonder  that  the  lamented  Colonel  Gaillard 
lost  his  health  and  his  life  fighting  them. 

43 


(From  "The  Panama  Gateway,"  by  Joseph  Bucklin  Bishop, 
Secretary  of  the  Isthmian  Canal  Commission.) 

No  one  could  say  when  the  sun  went  down  at 
night  what  the  condition  of  the  Cut  would  be  when 
the  sun  rose  the  next  morning.  The  work  of  months 
and  years  might  be  blotted  out  by  an  avalanche  of 
earth  or  the  toppling  over  of  a  small  mountain 
of  rock.  It  was  a  task  to  try  men's  souls,  and  it  was 
one  also  to  kindle  in  them  a  joy  of  combat  which  no 
repulse  could  chill,  and  a  buoyant  faith  of  ultimate 
victory  which  nothing  could  shake.  From  all  quar- 
ters of  the  globe  came  engineers  and  others  engaged 
in  construction  operations  to  view  the  struggle. 
They  came  in  doubt  often  as  to  the  outcome,  but 
they  went  away  with  all  doubt  removed.  *  *  * 
They  were  not  surprised,  after  witnessing  this  won- 
derful human  machine  at  work,  that  slide  after  slide 
went  into  the  Cut  without  causing  the  faintest 
shadow  of  uneasiness  to  anyone  concerned  and  with- 
out delaying  the  final  completion  of  the  task. 

(From  "South  America"  (1912),  by  James  Bryce,  author  of 
"The  American  Commonwealth,"  British  Ambassador  at  Wash- 
ington, 1907-1914  (now  Viscount  Bryce).  Upon  the  completion  of 
a  period  of  seven  years  as  Ambassador  at  Washington,  Lord 
Bryce  visited  the  Panama  Canal  and  South  America,  embodying 
his  observations  in  the  volume  named  above.) 

In  these  forty  miles  of  canal  (or  fifty  if  we  reckon 
from  deep  water  to  deep  water),  the  two  most  re- 
markable pieces  of  engineering  work  are  the  gigantic 
dam  (with  its  locks)  at  Gatun,  and  the  gigantic  cut- 
ting at  Culebra,  each  the  hugest  of  its  kind  that  the 
world  has  to  show.     .     .     . 

The  great  Culebra  Cut  is  interesting  not  only  to 
the  engineer  but  also  to  the  geologist,  as  being  what 
he  calls  a  Section.    It  is  the  deepest  open  cutting 

U 


anywhere  in  the  world,  and  shows  curious  phe- 
nomena in  the  injection  of  igneous  rocks,  apparently 
very  recent,  among  the  loose  sedimentary  beds, 
chiefly  clays  and  soft  sandstones  of  the  latest  ter- 
tiary epoch.  A  troublesome  result,  partly  of  this 
intermixture,  and  partly  of  the  friability  and  in- 
stability not  only  of  the  sedimentary  strata,  but 
also  of  some  of  the  volcanic  rocks,  has  been  noted 
in  the  constant  slips  and  slides  of  rock  and  earth 
down  the  sides  of  the  cutting  into  the  bed  of  the 
canal  that  is  to  be.  This  source  of  expense  and  de- 
lay was  always  foreseen  by  those  who  knew  the 
character  of  the  soil  and  the  power  of  torrential 
tropical  rains,  and  was  long  dwelt  upon  as  a  fatal 
objection  to  a  sea  level  canal.  It  has  caused  even 
more  delay  and  more  expenditure  than  was  ex- 
pected. But  it  has  now  been  overcome,  though  to 
avert  the  risk  of  future  damage  to  the  work  when 
completed,  the  engineers  have  been  obliged  to  give 
a  much  lower  slope  to  the  sides  of  the  cutting  than 
was  originally  contemplated. 

The  interior  of  the  Culebra  Cut  presented  dur- 
ing the  period  of  excavation,  a  striking  sight.  With- 
in the  nine  miles  of  the  whole  cutting,  two  hundred 
miles  of  railroad  track  had  been  laid  down  side  by 
side,  some  on  the  lowest  level  on  terraces  along 
which  the  excavating  shovels  were  at  work.  Within 
the  deepest  part  of  the  cutting,  whose  length  is  less 
than  a  mile,  many  hundreds  of  railroad  construction 
cars  and  many  thousands  of  men  were  at  work,  some 
busy  in  setting  dynamite  charges  for  blasting,  some 
clearing  away  the  rubbish  scattered  round  by  an 
explosion,  some  working  the  huge  moving  shovels 
which  were  digging  into  the  softer  parts  of  the  hill 

45 


or  were  removing  the  material  loosened  by  explo- 
sions, the  rest  working  the  trains  of  cars  that  were 
perpetually  being  made  up  and  run  out  of  the  cut- 
ting at  each  end  to  dump  the  excavated  material 
wherever  it  was  needed  somewhere  along  the  line  of 
the  canal.  Every  here  and  there  one  saw  little 
puffs  of  steam,  some  from  the  locomotives,  some 
Avhere  the  compressed  air  by  which  power  was  ap- 
plied to  the  shovels  was  escaping  from  the  pipes, 
and  condensing  the  vapor-saturated  atmosphere. 

There  is  something  in  the  magnitude  and  the 
methods  of  this  enterprise  which  a  poet  might  take 
as  his  theme.  Never  before  on  our  planet  have  so 
much  labor,  so  much  scientific  knowledge,  and  so 
much  executive  skill  been  concentrated  on  a  work 
designed  to  bring  the  nations  nearer  to  one  another 
and  serve  the  interests  of  all  mankind. 

(From  an  article  in  The  St.  Louis  Times,  October  8,  1913,  by 
Edward  B.  Clark,  Colonel  Gaillard's  classmate  at  West  Point.) 

[On  October  10,  1913,  while  Colonel  Gaillard  was  at  Johns 
Hopkins  suffering  under  that  nervous  breakdown,  which  was  soi 
soon  to  prove  fatal,  plans  were  completed  for  turning  the  water 
into  Culebra  Cut.  On  the  appointed  day  President  Wilson,  at 
Washington,  pressed  an  electric  button  and  the  dam  at  Gamboa, 
on  the  Isthmus,  was  blown  asunder,  letting  the  waters  of  the 
Atlantic  into  the  cut.] 

The  explosives  are  ready,  the  mine  drillings  have 
been  made  and  the  train  is  laid  to  blow  into  de- 
struction the  last  land  barrier  which  traverses  the 
Isthmian  waterway  from  bank  to  bank.  Shortly 
the  spark  will  be  applied,  the  rock  and  earth  em- 
bankment will  disappear  under  the  fires  of  explosion 
and  the  waters  of  Gatun  Lake  will  pour  into  the  Cu- 
lebra Cut  which  quickly  will  fill  to  the  required  level, 
and  the  way  will  be  clear  for  the  first  ship  to  sail 
from  ocean  to  ocean. 

46 


One  of  the  tragedies  of  the  canal  is  the  serious 
illness  of  Lieut.-Col.  David  DuB.  Gaillard.  The  man 
who  captured  the  landslides  and  dug  the  Culebra  Cut 
cannot  be  present  to  witness  the  unchaining  of  the 
waters  and  the  final  proving  of  the  integrity  of  his 
six  years  of  labor  under  the  tropical  sun. 

Col.  Gaillard,  as  the  country  already  knows,  is 
now  in  a  hospital  in  the  United  States,  having  been 
stricken  with  a  nervous  disorder  virtually  on  the  day 
of  his  completion  of  one  of  the  greatest  works  in  the 
history  of  engineering.     .     .     . 

In  the  near  future,  when  ships  pass  through  the 
Culebra  Cut,  the  voyagers  will  see  a  high  bank  rising 
on  either  side  covered  with  the  green  growth  of  the 
tropics.  The  clay  and  the  rocks  will  be  clothed  more 
quickly  than  was  the  northern  cliif  which  Bjomson 
pictured  so  vividly  in  its  transformation. 

Looking  on  the  banks,  the  passing  traveler,  un- 
less he  knows  the  history  of  the  canal,  will  think 
that  his  ship  is  making  its  way  through  a  natural 
valley  and  perhaps  all  thought  will  be  lost  by  the 
wayfarer  of  the  travail,  the  time  and  the  high  en- 
gineering skill  which  it  took  to  dig  and  to  cut  this 
commercial  pathway  through  the  continental  divide. 

This  work  is  the  triumph  of  an  American  army 
officer,  born  in  the  State  of  South  Carolina.  En- 
gineers say  it  will  go  into  history  as  one  of  the  great 
labors  of  the  age.  When  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gail- 
lard took  charge  at  the  beginning  of  the  work,  he 
knew  that  he  must  overcome  the  landslides  which 
were  bound  to  start  when  the  mountains  through 
which  he  was  to  make  his  way  showed  that  their 
footholds  were  becoming  insecure. 

Gaillard  made  his  way  fighting.    Literally  he  was 

47 


obliged  to  shackle  the  feet  of  the  mountains.    He  did 
it  and  the  chaining  is  for  all  time. 

(From  The  Baltimore  American,  December  6,  1913.) 

Colonel  Gaillard  was  the  real  builder  of  the  Canal, 
but  when  Gamboa  Dike  was  blown  up  and  the  wa- 
ters of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  met  for  the  first 
time  he  lay  unconscious  in  his  bed  in  the  hospital, 
unaware  that  President  Wilson  had  pressed  the  but- 
ton that  ignited  the  hundreds  of  pounds  of  dynamite, 
completing  his  work.  The  building  of  the  canal  was 
his  cherished  dream.  His  constant  study  and  con- 
centration of  mind  on  the  work  and  the  realization 
of  the  danger  incurred  by  the  thousands  of  men  un- 
der him  is  thought  to  be  the  primary  cause  of  his 
illness.  Mrs.  Gaillard  said  that  many  nights  had 
been  spent  by  the  Colonel  in  studying  methods  that 
would  prevent  the  landslides  and  the  next  morning 
he  would  be  at  work  again. 


48 


GAILLARD  AS  A  SOLDIER 

By  Stephen  M.  Foote,  Colonel  Coast  Artillery  Corps, 

U.  S.  A.  (Late  Major  Third  U.  S.  Volunteer 

Engineers.) 


GAILLARD  AS  A  SOLDIER 


At  the  time  of  his  death,  Gaillard  was  a  member 
of  the  Isthmian  Canal  Commission,  and  he  is  known 
the  world  over  as  the  Engineer  who  made  the  cut 
for  the  Great  Canal  through  Culebra  Mountain. 

In  his  service  as  an  engineer  before  the  Spanish 
War  he  had  assisted  in  determining  two  interna- 
tional boundaries — the  Mexican  and  the  Alaskan. 
After  the  Spanish  War,  while  engaged  in  river  and 
harbor  work  on  the  Great  Lakes,  he  wrote  a  notable 
study  on  the  effects  of  wave  action  in  relation  to  en- 
gineering structures. 

It  was  while  he  was  on  the  General  Staff  that  he 
was  selected  as  one  of  the  members  of  the  Isthmian 
Canal  Commission.  It  will  be  remembered  that  it 
was  President  Roosevelt's  desire  to  have  the  Pan- 
ama Canal  built  by  civilian  engineers  and  that  the 
various  engineers  connected  with  that  work  were  all 
celebrated  in  their  profession  and  came  from  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country.  As  soon  as  one  of  these 
engineers  was  put  in  charge  of  the  canal  construc- 
tion, he  became  a  marked  man  and  great  corpora- 
tions immediately  sought  his  services,  offering  enor- 
mous salaries.  In  this  way  they  succeeded  in  alien- 
ating several  chief  engineers  from  the  canal.  After 
the  embarrassing  changes  thus  resulting,  the  Presi- 
dent, early  in  1907,  decided  to  place  the  work  in  the 

51 


hands  of  Army  Engineers.  To  insure  against  rad- 
ical changes  due  to  the  loss,  for  any  reason,  of  the 
Chief  Engineer,  he  decided  to  appoint  a  Commission 
of  three  engineers,  with  the  idea  of  having  two  un- 
derstudies ready  and  competent  to  automatically 
take  up  the  work  of  Chief  Engineer  if  it  should  at 
any  time  be  dropped  by  the  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mission. Gaillard  was  one  of  the  three  so  chosen. 
His  part  in  the  building  of  the  canal  for  over  six 
years  continuously  is  worthy  of  all  the  praise  that 
has  been  bestowed  upon  it.  The  story  of  his  services 
on  the  canal  can  be  properly  told  only  by  one  who 
was  there  associated  with  him  during  those  years. 

Gaillard 's  abilities  as  an  engineer  and  executive 
were  so  pronounced  and  have  become  so  well  known 
that  his  ability  as  a  soldier  has  been  overlooked. 
People  generally  do  not  know  of  his  soldierly  qual- 
ities, and  yet  it  would  be  safe  to  venture  that  no 
achievement  of  his  as  an  engineer  gave  him  more 
pride  and  satisfaction  than  his  service  from  June, 
1898,  to  May,  1899,  as  Colonel  of  the  3rd  United 
States  Volunteer  Engineers. 

In  his  military  as  in  his  civil  undertakings,  Gail- 
lard never  blindly  relied  upon  bluff  and  self  assur- 
ance. He  had  a  keen  perception  of  the  responsibil- 
ities of  any  position  he  ever  held,  and  while  he  re- 
alized to  the  full  the  difficulties  before  him,  his  active 
mind  instantly  sought  the  way  out ;  he  always  rose  to 
the  occasion  and  enlisted  not  only  his  own  abilities 
but  those  of  his  associates  in  overcoming  the  diffi- 
culties. 

While  his  regiment  did  not  have  occasion  to  enter 
an  active  campaign,  it  did  splendid  service  in  the  re- 
generation of  Cuba  during  the  early  months  of  1899, 

52 


winning  the  most  flattering  encomiums  from  all  who 
came  in  contact  with  any  part  of  it.  And  it  was  able 
to  do  this  because  its  colonel  had  from  the  first  la- 
bored incessantly  to  make  it  an  efficient  regiment 
for  any  duty  it  might  be  called  upon  to  perform. 

Gaillard  was  a  good  judge  of  men  and  knew  for 
what  purposes  and  to  what  extent  he  could  rely  upon 
his  immediate  subordinates.  Within  such  limita- 
tions he  gave  them  his  confidence  and  was  rarely  at 
fault.  As  a  consequence,  he  attained  the  unlimited 
confidence  and  unswerving  loyalty  of  his  officers  and 
men. 

The  camps  of  the  3rd  Engineers  in  the  Spanish 
War  were  models  for  all  the  troops  around  them. 
While  in  camp  at  Lexington,  Kentucky,  shortly  after 
the  regiment  had  been  mustered  into  the  service,  the 
Colonel  sought  an  opportunity  to  give  his  men  target 
practice.  Authority  was  secured,  a  target  range  ob- 
tained and  the  men  given  the  practice.  A  perfectly 
natural  thing  to  do,  one  might  say,  but  it  was  a  thing 
not  generally  done  by  the  Volunteers  at  that  time. 

As  infantry,  probably  no  regiment  of  its  time  was 
better  drilled  in  camp  and  field,  while  in  engineering 
of  every  description — military,  railway,  sanitary, 
topographical — it  was  perfectly  at  home.  The  mili- 
tary engineering  it  was  necessary  for  the  members  of 
the  regiment  to  learn  by  means  of  daily  drills  in  that 
subject,  but  with  so  many  of  the  officers  and  men 
professional  civil  engineers,  they  made  apt  pupils  in 
every  line  of  military  engineering. 

While  in  camp  at  Macon,  Georgia,  in  the  fall  of 
1898,  the  3rd  Engineers  was  given  the  delicate  task 
of  disarming  a  mutinous  state  volunteer  regiment, 
which  task  was  performed  in  a  manner  that  brought 

53 


forth  many  expressions  of  praise  from  higher  com- 
manders. 

In  Cuba,  the  regiment  was  dispersed,  the  regimen- 
tal headquarters  and  one  battalion  going  to  Cienfue- 
gos,  one  battalion  to  Matanzas,  and  one  to  Pinar  del 
Eio.  Their  work  in  Cuba  was  mostly  of  a  construc- 
tive nature,  and  embraced  roads,  wharves,  railroads, 
sanitation,  surveying,  etc.,  but  their  strictly  military 
duties  were  not  less  important,  as  it  became  neces- 
sary for  them  to  guard  and  care  for  a  large  number 
of  Spanish  prisoners  awaiting  repatriation. 

On  its  return  from  Cuba  for  muster  out,  the  regi- 
ment was  together  for  about  three  weeks  at  Fort  Mc- 
Pherson,  Georgia,  and  during  this  time  there  was  a 
short  drill  and  a  parade  daily,  maintaining  military 
discipline  to  the  end. 

Furthermore,  he  took  great  pride  in  the  good  name 
of  the  regiment  and  instilled  the  same  feeling  in  oth- 
ers. The  regiment  thus  acquired  in  high  degree  that 
valuable  asset,  esprit  de  corps.  So  deep  was  this 
feeling  that  associations  of  officers  and  men  of  the 
3rd  Engineers  have  been  in  active  existence  since  the 
muster-out  of  the  regiment. 

To  the  men  of  the  regiment  and  probably  to  some 
Qf  the  officers  the  Colonel  was  the  able,  just  and  con- 
siderate commander,  but  to  those  who  had  the  priv- 
ilege of  knowing  him  intimately,  he  was  a  most  de- 
lightful companion.  His  clever  anecdotes  and  sto- 
ries were  always  apropos,  his  lively  raillery  was 
never  practiced  except  on  his  friends,  his  keen  shafts 
of  wit  were  never  poisoned. 

And  so  we  like  to  think  of  those  pleasant  hours 
with  him,  and  a  smile  breaks  upon  the  lips  even  in 
our  sadness. 

54 


OFFICIAL  ACTIONS 

TAKEN  UPON  THE  DEATH  OF 

COLONEL  GAILLARD 


OFFICIAL  ACTIONS  TAKEN  UPON  THE 
DEATH  OF  COLONEL  GAILLAED 

RESOLUTIONS  AND  PROCEEDINGS  IN  CONGRESS 

(From  the  Proceedings  of  the  United  States  Senate,   Con- 
gressional Record,  page  422,  Dec.  8,  1913.) 

LIEUT.-COL.  DAVID  DuBOSE  GAILLARD 

Mr.  0 'GORMAN.  Mr.  President,  as  chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Interoceanic  Canals,  which  has 
had  Colonel  Gaillard  's  work  on  the  canal  under  con- 
stant observation,  and  is  therefore  entirely  familiar 
with  the  magnitude  of  the  services  he  rendered  the 
Nation,  I  beg  to  introduce  the  following  resolution : 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER  (Mr.  Walsh  in  the 
chair).    The  resolution  will  be  read. 

The  Secretary  read  the  resolution  (S.  Res.  233),  as 
follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
has  heard  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death  of 
Lieut.-Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard,  to  whom  the 
American  people  are  under  lasting  obligations  for 
the  splendid  service  he  rendered  in  overcoming  some 
of  the  most  perplexing  difficulties  in  connection  with 
the  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal. 

Resolved,  That  in  further  testimonial  of  our  es- 
teem the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  be  authorized  to 
forward  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  family  of 
Lieut.-Col.  Gaillard. 

Mr.  O 'GORMAN.  I  ask  unanimous  consent  for 
the  immediate  consideration  of  the  resolution. 

57 


The  PKESIDING  OFFICEE.  Unanimous  consent 
for  the  immediate  consideration  of  the  resolution  is 
asked.    Is  there  objection! 

There  being  no  objection,  the  Senate  proceeded  to 
consider  the  resolution. 

Mr.  SMITH  of  South  Carolina.  Mr.  President,  I 
should  like  to  state  in  this  connection  that  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Gaillard  was  a  native  of  my  county  and  lived 
most  of  his  early  life  in  my  county  town.  I  am  not 
going  to  make  any  remarks  upon  his  character,  for 
that  is  well  set  forth  in  an  article  which  appeared 
in  one  of  the  newspapers  of  my  State,  which  I  send 
to  the  desk  and  ask  unanimous  consent  to  have 
printed  in  the  Record,  My  colleague  (Mr.  Tillman )y 
is  unavoidably  absent  on  account  of  sickness  for  the 
remainder  of  the  afternoon.  He  being  the  senior 
Senator  from  South  Carolina  would  naturally  have 
presented  these  testimonials.  If  he  were  present  he 
would  be  glad  to  make  some  remarks  upon  the  char- 
acter and  work  of  this  splendid  son  of  South  Caro- 
lina. 

The  PEESIDING  OFFICER.  Without  objection, 
the  matter  presented  by  the  Senator  from  South  Car- 
olina will  be  printed  in  the  Record,  The  Chair  hears 
none. 

The  matter  referred  to  is  as  follows : 
In  South  Carolina  the  death  of  Colonel  Gaillard 
brings  first  of  all  sorrow,  and  in  the  hearts  of  many 
"^  sense  of  personal  loss  which  overshadows  the  feel- 
ing of  regret  at  the  ending  of  a  career  which  cast  so 
bright  a  reflection  on  this  State,  which  for  the  mo- 
ment blunts  the  realization  of  the  tragedy  and  pathos 
of  this  quiet  exit  from  the  stage  of  life  before  the 

68 


spotlight  had  been  turned  full  upon  his  mammoth 
work  or  the  applause  of  the  Nation  had  reached  his 
ears.  For  Colonel  Gaillard  was  not  only  admired, 
not  only  honored  in  his  native  State,  he  was  widely 
beloved.  Family  and  friends,  of  whom  he  had  many, 
particularly  in  Clarendon  and  Sumter  Counties,  here 
in  the  city  of  Columbia,  and  in  Fairfield,  grieve  not 
primarily  because  the  eminent  engineer  has  finished 
his  career,  not  that  the  ^^conquerer  of  Culebra'*  has 
thus  sacrificed  himself  in  successfully  circumventing 
nature  ^s  treasonable  intent  against  the  canal  project, 
but  that  David  Gaillard,  the  man,  is  dead.  Those 
who  knew  him  best,  valued  him  for  the  rare  charm 
of  his  personality,  for  his  refreshing  fun  and  wit,  for 
a  sincerity,  a  simplicity,  a  modesty  of  nature  which 
insured  him  through  every  success  against  a  change 
in  attitude  toward  people  or  an  altered  estimate  of 
the  real  values  in  life. 

On  each  leave  of  absence  he  came  to  put  himself  in 
fresh  touch  with  South  Carolina  and  South  Caro- 
linians, and  only  last  June  he  spent  a  few  days  here 
with  relatives  in  Columbia  and  visited  members  of 
his  family  wherever  they  were  scattered  throughout 
the  State.  On  that  occasion,  when  a  meeting  with 
him  or  the  mention  of  his  name  brought  a  realiza- 
tion of  his  achievement  on  Panama,  he  was  to  his 
friends  unchanged,  unaffected,  cordial,  and  entirely 
lacking  in  self-consciousness.  And  as  success  and 
fame  had  seemed  unable  to  work  in  him  their  per- 
haps not  unexpected  change,  so  time,  too,  appeared 
to  have  made  unsuccessful  onslaughts;  his  eye  was 
as  keen  and  as  kindly  as  ever,  his  figure  as  lithe  and 
erect,  his  movements  as  quick  and  energetic,  and  his 
step  as  short  and  nervous  as  he  advanced  toward  the 

69 


fifty-fourth  milestone  in  his  life  journey,  in  appear- 
ance a  man  of  certainly  a  dozen  years  younger.  It 
was  almost  immediately  upon  his  return  to  the  Canal 
Zone  after  that  visit  that  his  fatal  breakdown  oc- 
curred, shocking  those  who  had  so  recently  seen  him 
and  whose  thoughts  have  since  been  very  constantly 
with  him  in  his  losing  fight  for  life. 

Colonel  Gaillard's  career  since  entering  the  Army 
is  well  known,  there  having  been  occasions  from  time 
to  time  to  outline  his  assignments  and  attainments 
as  one  of  Uncle  Sam's  most  efficient  engineers. 
.  .  .  From  the  time  he  graduated,  in  1884,  he 
had  an  exceedingly  varied  career,  intrusted  with  an 
unusual  number  of  important  Government  commis- 
sions of  peculiar  character  and  not  once  having  been 
with  a  regiment  or  a  battalion  except  during  the 
Spanish- American  War,  when  he  was  Colonel  of  an 
Engineer  regiment.  He  had  been  out  of  West  Point 
but  a  few  years,  when  he  was  appointed  by  the  Pres- 
ident one  of  the  three  commissioners  to  determine 
the  boundary  line  between  Mexico  and  the  United 
States  from  El  Paso,  Tex.,  to  the  Pacific  coast. 

When  he  completed  this  work,  which  brought  him 
many  interesting  and  romantic  experiences  of  camp 
life  in  the  desert  as  well  as  many  stern  and  stren- 
uous mental  and  physical  tests,  he  was  complimented 
in  a  state  paper  by  the  Secretary  of  State.  Then  he 
was  ordered  on  duty  in  the  construction  of  fortifica- 
tions and  a  sea  wall  at  Fort  Monroe.  One  of  the  most 
valuable  works  on  which  Colonel  Gaillard  ever  en- 
gaged was  the  Washington  Aqueduct,  having  been 
put  in  sole  charge  of  this  work  when  he  was  only  a 
first  lieutenant. 

He  went  from  Washington  to  Alaska  upon  an 

60 


important  secret  commission  of  the  Government. 
Nominally,  as  the  order  reads,  he  was  sent  there 
upon  work  on  the  Portland  Channel,  but  his  task,  it 
was  thought,  had  something  to  do  with  international 
complications  between  this  country  and  England. 
After  he  had  finished  this  work,  for  which  he  was 
highly  complimented  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  he 
was  put  on  the  staff  of  Maj.-Gren.  James  Franklin 
Wade  and  served  at  Tampa  and  Chickamauga.  .  .  . 
Colonel  Gaillard,  like  his  engineer  comrades  of 
the  Army,  labored  at  Panama,  moved  by  the  spirit  of 
obedience  to  orders  and  a  desire  that  the  work 
should  be  well  done,  but  also  he  was  quickened  to 
most  painstaking  endeavor  by  the  knowledge  that 
the  Engineer  Corps  of  the  Army  was  on  trial  in  a 
work  upon  which  civilian  engineers  had  turned  their 
backs.  He  spared  himself  not  at  all,  and  it  was  only 
after  he  had  solved  his  great  problem  and  had  sight- 
ed the  end  of  his  task  that  his  strength  failed. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  The  question  is  on 
agreeing  to  the  resolution. 

The  resolution  was  unanimously  agreed  to. 

(From  Proceedings  of  the  United   States  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, Congressional  Record,  page  386,  Dec.  6,  1913.) 

LIEUT.-COL.  DAVID  DuBOSE  GAILLARD 

Mr.  AUSTIN.    Mr.  Speaker 

The  SPEAKER.  For  what  purpose  does  the  gen- 
tleman from  Tennessee  rise? 

Mr.  AUSTIN.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  rise  for  the  purpose 
of  asking  unanimous  consent  for  the  consideration 
of  a  resolution  in  reference  to  the  death  of  Lieuten- 
ant Colonel  Gaillard,  of  the  Panama  Canal. 

61 


The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  Tennessee 
asks  unanimous  consent  to  consider  a  resolution  of 
regret  or  condolence  on  the  death  of  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Gaillard,  one  of  the  Panama  Canal  construc- 
tors.   Is  there  objection  ! 

Mr.  MANN.  Mr.  Speaker,  reserving  the  right  to 
object,  let  us  hear  it  read. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  Clerk  will  read  the  resolu- 
tion. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  House  of  Representatives  has 
heard  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death  of  Lieut. 
Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard,  for  whose  conspicuous 
and  valuable  services  in  connection  with  the  con- 
struction of  the  Panama  Canal  the  Nation  is  in- 
debted. 

Resolvedy  That  the  Clerk  of  the  House  transmit  a 
copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  family  of  the  de- 
ceased. 

Mr.  MANN.  Mr.  Speaker,  reserving  the  right  to 
object,  I  think  ordinarily  resolutions  of  this  sort 
ought  not  to  be  presented  or  considered  by  the 
House,  but  I  think  this  is  a  conspicuous  instance 
where  we  ought  to  vary  from  the  ordinary  rule,  and 
therefore  I  do  not  object. 

The  SPEAKER.  Is  there  objection!  [After  a 
pause.]    The  Chair  hears  none. 

The  question  was  taken,  and  the  resolution  was 
agreed  to. 

The  prompt  action  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives was  commented  on  in  the  Baltimore  News  of 
Dec.  6, 1913,  as  follows : 

62 


Washington,  Dec.  6. — The  House  took  an  unusual 
action  today  when  it  unanimously  adopted  a  resolu- 
tion of  regret  over  the  death  of  one  outside  of  Con- 
gress, but  who  had  rendered  conspicuous  service  in 
various  engineering  feats. 

This  resolution  of  regret  over  the  death  of  Colonel 
Gaillard,  who  virtually  gave  his  life  in  the  building 
of  the  Panama  canal,  was  almost  unprecedented. 
Speaker  Clark  recalled  that  only  upon  one  occasion 
had  a  somewhat  similar  resolution  been  adopted. 


OFFICIAL  ORDER  IN  THE  CANAL  ZONE 

LIEUT.-COL.  DAVID  DuBOSE  GAILLARD 
(Gen.  Geo.  W.  Goethals,  in  Canal  Record,  Dec.  10,  1913.) 

The  cable  brings  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of 
Lieut.  Col.  D.  D.  Gaillard,  Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S. 
A.,  member  of  the  Isthmian  Canal  Commission,  on 
the  morning  of  December  5, 1913,  at  Baltimore,  Md. 

Colonel  Gaillard  was  bom  in  Fulton,  Sumter 
County,  South  Carolina,  September  4,  1859.  He  was 
graduated  from  the  West  Point  Military  Academy  in 
1884,  and  was  appointed  Second  Lieutenant  of  En- 
gineers on  June  15, 1884.  After  graduation  from  the 
Engineering  School  of  Application,  he  served  on 
River  and  Harbor  and  Fortification  work  in  various 
parts  of  the  United  States ;  and  from  February,  1892, 
to  December,  1894,  was  a  Commissioner  on  the  Mex- 
ican Boundary  Survey.  During  the  war  with  Spain, 
he  was  appointed  Colonel  of  the  Third  United  States 
Volunteer  Engineers,  serving  in  the  United  States 
and  Cuba  in  1898  and  1899,  a  part  of  the  time  as 

63 


Chief  Engineer  of  the  District  of  Santa  Clara  in 
Cuba.  He  was  Assistant  to  the  Engineer  Commis- 
sioner of  the  District  of  Columbia  following  his  serv- 
ice in  Cuba,  until  February,  1901.  On  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  General  Staff  of  the  Army,  he  was  se- 
lected as  one  of  its  members,  and  was  engaged  on 
this  duty  when  appointed  a  member  of  the  Isthmian 
Canal  Commission  in  1907.  He  arrived  on  the  Isth- 
mus in  March,  1907,  and  was  appointed  subsequently 
head  of  the  Department  of  Excavation  and  Dredg- 
ing, retaining  that  position  until  a  new  organization 
was  created  on  July  1, 1908,  when  he  was  made  Divi- 
sion Engineer  of  the  Central  Division,  which  includ- 
ed the  Culebra  Cut.  He  was  in  charge  of  the  work 
in  the  Cut  until  its  virtual  completion,  being  com- 
pelled to  abandon  his  duties  through  illness  in  July 
last. 

Colonel  Gaillard's  period  of  Canal  service  was  co- 
incident with  that  of  the  other  engineering  members 
of  the  present  Commission,  and  included  the  years 
of  most  active  construction  work.  He  brought  to 
the  service  trained  ability  of  the  first  order,  untiring 
zeal  and  unswerving  devotion  to  duty.  His  name  is 
connected  inseparably  with  the  great  task  which  was 
brought  to  completion  under  his  guidance  and  will 
be  held  in  lasting  honor.  His  associates  mourn  him 
as  a  valiant  soldier,  true  man  and  beloved  compan- 
ion. 

Geo.  W.  Goethals, 
Chairman  and  Chief  Engineer. 
Culebra,  C.  Z.,  December  6, 1913. 


64 


OFFICIAL  ORDER,  CHIEF  OF  ENGINEERS 

War  Department,  Office  of  Chief  of  Engineers, 

Washington,  Dec.  9,  1913. 
General  Orders,  No.  31 : 

To  the  Corps  of  Engineers  is  announced  the  sad 
intelligence  of  the  death  of  Lieut.-Col.  David  DuB. 
Gaillard,  Corps  of  Engineers,  which  occurred  at  Bal- 
timore, Md.,  on  Dec.  5,  1913. 

(Then  follows  an  account  in  detail  of  Colonel  Gail- 
lard's  military  career,  the  facts  of  which  will  be 
found  in  the  sketch  of  his  life,  already  given,  and 
also  summarized  in  the  chronology  at  the  end  of  this 
volume ;  and  also  a  copy  of  the  Eesolutions  adopted 
by  the  Senate  and  by  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  United  States,  which  are  set  out  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages  57,  62.  The  full  text  of  the^  order  is 
given  on  pages  156-159,  post.    The  order  concluded) : 

As  a  tribute  to  his  memory  the  Officers  of  the 
Corps  of  Engineers  will  wear  the  usual  badge  of 
mourning  for  30  days. 

By  command  of  Chief  of  Engineers, 

Edw.  Burk, 
Colonel,  Corps  of  Engineers. 

REPORT  OF  THE  INTERSTATE  COMMERCE  COMMITTEE  OF 
THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

(Report  122,630  Congress,  2nd  Session,  by  Hon.  William  C. 
Adamson  of  Georgia,  Chairman.) 

In  contrast  with  the  stupendous  enterprise  on 
which  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gaillard  and  his  associ- 
ates and  their  illustrious  chief.  Colonel  Goethals, 
have  achieved  such  unexampled  success,  kindred  en- 
terprises in  other  countries  and  other  ages  sink  into 

65 


insignificance.  Darius,  with  his  conquering  army, 
completing  the  old  Suez  canal  begun  and  abandoned 
by  the  old  Egyptian  king,  to  be  again  abandoned  and 
relegated  to  sand  dunes  and  disuse  for  ages,  pre- 
sents but  a  poor  comparison.  The  ostentatious  per- 
formance of  Xerxes  in  constructing  the  canal  across 
the  peninsula  of  Athos,  with  the  money  and  men  of 
all  nations,  was  a  mere  matter  of  sport  indulged  to 
but  little  purpose  or  profit  beside  the  stupendous 
achievements  at  Panama.  The  canals  at  Kiel  and 
Corinth  do  not  approach  our  Panama  construction 
in  magnitude,  engineering  skill,  or  universal  import- 
ance to  mankind. 

The  later  revival  of  the  Suez  Canal  was  but  a 
renewal  of  the  work  of  monarchs  in  antiquity,  and 
though  backed  by  the  power  and  finances  of  all  Eu- 
rope, presents  no  analogy  or  comparison  to  the  work 
accomplished  by  the  mighty  Goethals  and  his  never- 
failing  lieutenants. 

It  was  and  is  the  undoubted  purpose  of  Congress 
to  render  fitting  honor  to  the  builders  of  the  canal, 
recognizing  each  in  degree  corresponding  to  his  posi- 
tion and  rank  in  the  enterprise.  The  untimely  death 
of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gaillard  places  him  beyond 
the  possibility  of  hearing  our  plaudits,  enjoying  the 
incense  of  our  honors  to  him,  profiting  by  our  re- 
wards. 

Any  civilized  nation  would  be  proud  to  boast  of 
such  achievements  as  will  stand  to  the  everlasting 
honor  of  the  builders  of  the  Panama  Canal.  Those 
surviving  will,  without  question,  reap  the  rewards  of 
their  toil  in  the  lasting  gratitude  of  a  proud  people 
and  such  other  rewards  as  may  be  adjudged  fitting 
to  their  rank  and  performance.    But  as  Lieutenant- 

66 


Colonel  Gaillard  is  dead,  his  ear  deaf  to  our  plaudits, 
his  brain  no  longer  conceiving  and  executing  great 
designs,  his  heart  throbbing  no  more  in  unison  with 
that  once  mighty  intellect,  we  can  do  nothing  more 
for  him  in  person,  but  the  life  partner,  the  solace  of 
his  sorrows  and  depressions,  the  inspiration  for  his 
buoyancy,  courage,  and  mighty  achievements,  his  be- 
reaved widow  still  lives  to  mourn  his  loss.  We  mourn 
with  her.  We  honor  her  and  we  honor  him  in  honor- 
ing her.  She  gave  the  best  years  of  her  life  and  im- 
paired her  health  in  the  tropics  co-operating  with 
her  husband  in  consecrating  his  skill  and  energy  to 
consummate  an  enterprise  which  has  been  the  dream 
and  will  be  the  wonder  of  the  world,  and  at  last  saw 
her  husband  immolated  a  willing  sacrifice  to  the 
honor  and  glory  of  his  country. 


67 


TRIBUTES 


TRIBUTES 


HON.  LINDLEY  M.  GARRISON,  SECRETARY  OF  WAR. 
(Baltimore  American,  Dec.  6,  1913.) 

Upon  being  advised  of  the  death  of  Colonel  Gail- 
lard,  Secretary  Garrison  sent  the  following  telegram 
to  Mrs.  Gaillard :  *  *  Mrs.  Garrison  and  I  tender  our 
heartfelt  sympathy  in  this  sad  hour.  It  grieves  us 
very  much  to  learn  of  your  great  loss.'' 

The  Secretary  has  a  keen  sense  of  appreciation  of 
the  services  which  Colonel  Gaillard  rendered  the 
Government  not  only  in  connection  with  the  excava- 
tion of  the  Panama  Canal,  but  in  important  engi- 
neering projects  in  the  United  States,  including 
fortifications  and  river  and  harbor  improvements 
and  work  of  great  technical  value  in  connection  with 
the  survey  of  the  Mexican  boundary.  An  order  had 
been  issued  extending  an  indefinite  leave  of  absence 
to  Colonel  Gaillard  in  order  to  afford  him  an  oppor- 
tunity, by  complete  rest,  to  recover  from  his  illness. 

Secretary  Garrison  wrote  personally  to  the  Col- 
onel: **I  do  not  wish  you  to  return  to  your  work 
until  you  are  so  completely  recovered  that  there  is  no 
danger  of  a  recurrence  of  your  existing  trouble.  I 
cannot  let  this  occasion  pass  without  saying  to  you 
that  there  is  the  fullest  appreciation  of  your  most 
valuable  services." 

71 


MAJ.-GEN.  GEORGE  W.  GOETHALS 

(Puhlic  Ledger,  Philadelphia,  Dec.  5,  1913.) 

[The  official  tribute  issued  by  General  Goethals  and  printed 
in  the  Canal  Record  of  Dec.  10,  1913,  is  given  on  pages  63-64.] 

Col.  George  W.  Goethals  when  informed  of  the 
death  of  Colonel  Gaillard  said: 

I  am  deeply  shocked  to  hear  of  the  passing  of 
Colonel  Gaillard.  He  was  a  great  engineer,  an  un- 
flinching worker  and  a  true  gentleman.  While  his 
death  of  course  was  not  unexpected,  I  feel  it  is  a  deep 
personal  loss  to  me. 

FORMER  PRESIDENT  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 

I  am  very  glad  that  a  memorial  is  being  prepared 
for  Col.  D.  D.  Gaillard.  When  I  appointed  Col- 
onel Gaillard  on  the  Isthmian  Commission,  it  was 
because  of  the  very  high  reputation  he  bore.  His 
work  on  the  Isthmus  admirably  sustained  this  repu- 
tation. He  was  one  of  the  servants  of  the  United 
States  who  added  to  his  country's  honor,  dignity 
and  usefulness.    (Aug.  16, 1915.) 

FORMER  PRESIDENT  WILLIAM  H.  TAFT 

I  knew  Colonel  Gaillard,  but  not  very  intimately. 
He  was  a  very  competent  engineer  and  a  most  en- 
thusiastic worker  in  the  cause  of  the  Government. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  the  work  which  he  did  in  the 
tropics  and  under  the  trying  conditions  that  existed 
brought  about  the  illness  which  led  to  his  death.  He 
therefore  sacrificed  himself  in  the  same  way  that  a 
soldier  does  in  battle.  He  contributed  substantially 
to  a  great  work  and  Congress  recognized  his  merits. 
I  am  deeply  sorry  that  he  has  not  been  spared  for 
many  more  years  of  usefulness  to  his  country. 
(June  19,  1915.) 

72 


HON.  HENRY  L.  STIMSON 
Secretary  of  War,  1911-1913 

Colonel  Gaillard's  illness  and  death  did  not  oc- 
cur until  after  the  close  of  my  term  of  office  as  Sec- 
retary of  War  and  my  only  action  in  reference  to 
the  matter  was  a  personal  letter  of  condolence  to 
Mrs.  Gaillard.  He  was  a  most  efficient,  loyal  and 
distinguished  officer  and,  as  I  had  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  personally,  the  great  work  of  the  Culebra  Cut 
is  very  largely  a  record  of  those  qualities  of  his  char- 
acter. He  deserves  well  of  his  country  and  I  know 
that  his  host  of  friends  will  be  very  glad  that  a 
memorial  of  his  life  has  been  undertaken.  (Oct.  22, 
1914.) 

HON.  JACOB  M.  DICKINSON 
Secretary  of  War,  1909-1911 

I  esteem  it  not  only  a  duty  to  his  memory,  and 
to  the  American  people  whom  he  served  with  such 
distinguished  ability  and  fidelity,  but  a  privilege  to 
put  on  record  my  estimate  of  the  life,  character  and 
services  of  the  late  Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard. 

As  Secretary  of  War  I  was  for  a  period  of  two 
years  constantly  in  touch  with  his  work  in  making 
the  Panama  Canal,  not  only  through  official  corre- 
spondence and  reports,  but  a  part  of  the  time 
through  personal  observation  on  the  ground.  I  had 
full  information  in  regard  to  that  work,  and  can 
speak  of  it  and  him  with  confidence.  He  was  pos- 
sessed of  and  put  forth  the  highest  professional  skill, 
with  a  fidelity  to  duty,  and  a  disregard  of  care  for 
himself  that  could  not  be  excelled.  It  is  my  convic- 
tion that  he  sacrificed  himself  for  his  country  as 
truly  as  if  he  had  died  upon  the  field  of  battle.  The 

73 


record  of  an  officer  so  brilliant,  so  accurate,  so  untir- 
ing, so  faithful  even  unto  death,  is  a  proud  heritage 
for  his  family  and  his  countrymen  who  will  keep  his 
name  in  grateful  and  enduring  remembrance.  (Sept. 
30,1914.) 

LIEUT.-GEN.  J.  C.  BATES,  U.  S.  A.  (RETIRED) 
Late  Chief  of  Staff 

I  first  knew  Colonel  Gaillard  when  he  reported 
to  me  with  his  regiment  at  Macon,  Georgia,  in  the 
fall  of  1898.  In  January,  1899,  he  again  joined  me 
at  Cienfuegos,  Cuba,  with  part  of  his  regiment,  and 
in  addition  to  his  regimental  duties,  he  served  on  my 
staff  as  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Military  Department 
of  Santa  Clara,  Cuba,  and  later  he  served  on  my  staff 
at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  as  an  officer  of  the  General  Staff 
of  the  Army. 

He  has  earned  so  high  and  world-wide  a  reputa- 
tion as  a  constructive  engineer  that  I  make  no  further 
remark  on  that  phase  of  his  life 's  work,  but  speak  of 
him  as  a  soldier.  I  never  knew  a  better  volunteer 
regiment  than  the  Third  U.  S.  Volunteer  Engineers, 
whose  enlisted  personnel  consisted  of  men  of  excel- 
lent intelligence.  The  officers  had  to  pass  a  rigid 
examination  before  being  commissioned,  and  the 
field  officers  and  several  of  the  regimental  staff  of- 
ficers were  trained  soldiers,  but  Colonel  Gaillard 
must  be  given  a  large  share  of  the  credit  for  the 
high  degree  of  discipline  and  efficiency  attained  by 
the  regiment. 

As  an  officer  of  the  General  Staff  he  performed 
highly  important  duties  with  marked  energy  and  ef- 
ficiency. Colonel  Gaillard  was  an  all  round  officer 
and  in  his  untimely  death  our  country  lost  a  valuable 

74 


asset,  for  he  was  eminently  qualified  for  very  high 
command.  He  was  a  genial  companion,  and  a  lov- 
able and  noble  man.    (Dec.  4, 1914.) 

BRIG.-GEN.  JAS.  H.  WILSON,  U.  S.  A.  (RETIRED) 

When  I  took  command  of  the  First  Army  Corps 
at  Lexington,  Kentucky,  on  October  20,  1898,  I 
found  Col.  David  DuB.  Gaillard,  of  South  Carolina, 
commanding  the  Third  Regiment  of  United  States 
Volunteer  Engineers,  which  had  been  organized  at 
Jefferson  Barracks  in  June  of  that  year.  It  was 
composed  of  twelve  companies,  divided  into  three 
battalions,  each  commanded  by  a  graduate  of  West 
Point.  The  company  officers  were  generally  young 
Civil  Engineers,  who  had  carefully  selected  the  non- 
commissioned officers  and  enlisted  men  of  the  regi- 
ment. 

Although  his  regiment  had  been  only  a  few 
months  in  service,  both  officers  and  men  had  already 
caught  the  discipline  and  bearing  of  well  trained 
regulars. 

Upon  transfer  to  Cuba,  the  three  battalions  of 
this  regiment  were  immediately  utilized  in  the  sur- 
vey of  the  towns,  cities  and  surrounding  country  and 
in  the  systematic  study  of  their  conditions,  re- 
sources and  economic  requirements.  A  spirit  of  per- 
fect discipline  and  a  high  degree  of  intelligence  pre- 
vailed from  the  first,  and  the  thoroughness  with 
which  all  did  their  work  and  made  their  reports  were 
most  creditable  to  both  men  and  officers  as  Avell  as 
to  the  country  they  so  admirably  represented. 

The  experience  in  command  of  the  Third  U.  S. 
Volunteer  Engineers  was  but  a  brief  and  brilliant 
episode  to  Gaillard  in  the  career  of  a  scientist  and 

75 


a  savant.  It  showed  the  country  just  what  the  highly 
trained  West  Point  soldier  could  do  for  it  in  the  ac- 
tual organization  and  command  of  troops  and  left 
Gaillard  with  increased  powers  and  experience,  free 
to  return  to  duty  as  a  Captain  of  Engineers. 

His  work  upon  *^Wave  Action''  placed  him  at 
once  in  the  first  rank  of  West  Point  Hydraulic  En- 
gineers and  doubtless  did  its  part  in  securing  for 
Colonel  Gaillard  his  detail  as  a  member  of  the  Gen- 
eral Staff  corps,  Chief  of  Staff  to  the  Department  of 
the  Columbia,  Assistant  Chief  of  Staff  to  the  North- 
ern Division ;  to  membership  of  the  Army  War  Col- 
lege ;  of  the  General  Staff  corps ;  as  Assistant  Chief 
of  Staff  in  the  second  occupation  of  Cuba ;  and  final- 
ly, on  March  22,  1907,  as  a  member  of  the  Isthmian 
Canal  Commission. 

As)  Supervising  Engineer  in  charge  of  dredging 
the  harbors,  the  body  of  the  canal  below  the  tide 
level,  and  finally  of  excavating  the  Culebra  Cut 
through  the  central  ridge  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
Colonel  Gaillard  gained  the  chief  honor  of  his  use- 
ful life.  In  every  phase  of  his  crow^ning  work  in 
charge  of  the  Central  Division,  he  was  left  in  direct 
control  and  made  many  improvements  and  econ- 
omies in  the  plant  and  its  management. 

Colonel  Gaillard  devoted  himself  so  constantly 
and  so  assiduously  to  the  great  work  of  the  canal 
that  his  health  finally  became  so  hopelessly  im- 
paired as  to  cause  his  death.  He  would  accept  no 
relief  till  it  was  too  late  to  save  his  life,  and  he  died 
a  martyr  to  his  sense  of  duty  and  to  the  high  stand- 
ard of  the  profession  in  which  he  had  now  become 
distinguished  throughout  the  world.  It  was  well 
known  to  his  companions  of  the  Corps  of  Engineers, 

76 


that  Gaillard  was  not  only  an  engineer  of  great 
learning  but  of  unfailing  judgment  and  capacity,  and 
it  is  to  be  remarked  that  notwithstanding  his  schol- 
arship and  scientific  attainments  he  was  looked  upon 
by  the  Army  as  an  eminently  practical,  all-around 
man,  and  by  those  who  served  with  him,  as  an  ideal 
American  soldier.     (Dec,  1914.) 

BRIG.-GEN.  H.  M.  CHITTENDEN,  U.  S.  A.  (RETIRED) 
A  Member  of  Colonel  Gaillard's  Class  at  West  Point 

(In  January,  1914,  Bulletin  of  the  Class  of  1884,  U.  S.  Mili- 
tary Academy.) 

To  lay  down  one's  life  upon  the  field  of  battle  in 
voluntary  service  of  fatherland  has  been  considered 
in  all  ages  the  loftiest  expression  of  patriotism,  if 
not  of  heroism  itself.  To  fall  as  Gaillard  has  fallen 
— is  it  any  less  true  heroism  ?  Any  less  self-sacrifice 
upon  the  altar  of  country?  Not  amid  the  din  of 
armed  conflict,  nerved  by  the  frenzy  of  an  hour  or 
a  day,  but  at  the  end  of  long  years  of  patient,  ex- 
acting work,  of  terrific  responsibility,  the  tragic  end 
has  come.  But  it  is  just  as  much  a  direct  result  of 
the  struggle  itself  as  if  it  were  the  work  of  a  hostile 
bullet,  and  the  exalted  standard  of  duty  which  his 
career  exemplified  will  command  the  increasing  ad- 
miration of  men  as  long  as  his  work  in  the  Isthmian 
hills  endures. 

We  grieve  that  he  could  not  have  remained  to 
enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  well-earned  fame.  But  there 
is  compensation  in  the  thought  that  to  him  was  re- 
served the  higher  privilege  of  laying  down  his  life 
work  just  as  it  was  crowned  with  success.  Like 
Wolfe  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  he  has  been  called 
with  the  plaudits  of  victory  ringing  in  his  ears. 
Y/hatever  may  come  to  others,  his  record  is  secure. 

77 


MAJ.-GEN.  W.  W.  WOTHBRSPOON,  U.  S.  A.  (RETIRED) 

Colonel  Gaillard  served  as  one  of  my  assistants 
for  a  long  period  in  the  War  College  branch  of  the 
General  Staff  of  the  Army,  and  whilst  so  serving 
gave  evidence  of  that  marked  ability  which  has 
characterized  his  entire  service  in  the  Army.  I, 
like  everyone  else  who  ever  served  with  Colonel 
Gaillard,  had  a  deep  admiration  and  respect  for 
him.     (Sept.  25,  1914.) 


BRIG.-GEN.  JOHN  M.  WILSON,  U.  S.  A.  (RETIRED) 
(Late  Chief  of  Engineers) 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  have  been  honored 
with  the  acquaintance  of  the  late  Col.  David  DuB. 
Gaillard  for  a  number  of  years. 

I  regarded  him  as  one  of  the  ablest,  bravest, 
most  accomplished  officers  of  Corps  of  Engineers  of 
the  United  States  Army,  and  as  a  cultivated  gentle- 
man of  the  highest  type  of  character;  honorable  in 
every  sense,  firm  and  true  in  peace  and  war.  Gen- 
erations shall  come  and  pass  away  ere  the  beloved 
name  of  this  hero  will  be  forgotten  by  the  Nation. 
He  gave  up  his  life  in  the  interest  of  the  great  work 
in  which  he  was  engaged  on  the  Panama  Canal,  re- 
maining on  duty  till  his  physical  strength  was  ex- 
hausted. 

His  name  should  be  carved  high  upon  the  tablet 
of  fame  of  the  heroes  who  have  given  up  their  lives 
in  the  interest,  welfare  and  prosperity  of  our  great 
Nation.     (Sept.  25,  1914.) 


78 


GEN.  W.  M.  BLACK,  CHIEF  OF  ENGINEERS,  U.  S.  A. 
A  TRIBUTE 

How  is  it  possible  to  put  into  words  any  adequate 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  a  friend  of  many  years? 
How  much  more  difficult  is  this  when  in  addition  to 
worth  as  a  man  and  a  friend,  eminence  as  an  en- 
gineer who  has  advanced  his  profession  along  wide- 
ly different  lines,  is  to  be  portrayed? 

My  acquaintance  with  Colonel  Gaillard  goes 
back  to  his  cadet  days,  when  some  of  his  work  at  the 
drills  in  practical  military  engineering  first  brought 
him  to  my  attention  as  his  instructor.  Later,  after 
graduation,  his  first  practical  work  was  as  my  as- 
sistant in  the  Florida  District  of  river  and  harbor 
improvements,  where,  for  four  years,  we  were 
closely  associated.  From  1887  until  the  end  of  his 
life,  in  the  varied  stations  and  duties  of  our  corps, 
we  were  thrown  together  from  time  to  time.  Always 
it  was  a  pleasure  to  meet  him;  always  a  profit  to 
learn  of  his  work. 

Very  early  in  his  career  he  manifested  the 
qualities  which  were  sure  to  lead  to  eminence  in  his 
profession — an  intense  devotion  to  duty — strong 
common  sense — an  unusual  power  of  observation 
and  analysis  by  which  he  saw  not  only  what  was 
being  done  and  how  it  was  being  done,  but  also  how 
methods  could  be  bettered  and  greater  results  ob- 
tained. It  surely  was  no  small  thing  for  a  young 
engineer,  with  practically  no  funds  for  experiment, 
to  undertake  the  analysis  of  wave  action,  to  devise 
a  simple  and  practical  instrument  for  recording 
wave  pressures,  and  to  measure  the  force  of  the 
breakers  which  he  was  combating  in  his  work  on  the 
sandy  coast  of  Florida.    Yet  the  first  work  on  this 

79 


line  of  study  was  done  in  Florida  in  1888,  work 
which  later  resulted  in  his  book  on  **Wave  Action 
in  Eelation  to  Engineering  Structures,''  which  has 
become  a  standard  book  of  reference  on  this  difficult 
subject  among  the  engineers  of  the  world. 

From  1891  to  1896  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Mexican  Boundary  Commission,  and  had  duties  of 
great  responsibility.  For  a  large  part  of  this  time 
he  was  in  the  field  and  traversed  the  entire  bound- 
ary line  from  the  Rio  Grande  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Of  hardships  there  were  many,  but  his  friends  later 
heard  from  him  only  the  many  humorous  incidents 
which  a  man  with  his  sense  of  fun  was  sure  to  find 
on  such  a  journey,  through  the  deserts,  with  a  party 
originally  composed  mainly  of  scientific  tenderfeet. 

After  this  duty  he  was  for  a  time  on  fortifica- 
tion duty  at  Fort  Monroe,  and  later  in  Washington, 
in  local  charge  of  the  Washington  Aqueduct  and 
water  supply.  It  was  while  there  that  his  superiors 
showed  their  confidence  in  him  by  selecting  him  for 
a  peculiarly  delicate  piece  of  work  in  Alaska. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish  War  he  was 
promptly  assigned  to  military  duty  as  Engineer 
Officer  on  the  Staff  of  General  Wade.  A  little  later 
he  was  appointed  Colonel  of  the  Third  Riegiment 
of  Volunteer  Engineers,  recruited  from  the  South. 
This  regiment  was  organized  too  late  to  participate 
in  the  actual  fighting,  but  in  December,  1898,  and  in 
January  and  February  of  1899  it  was  sent  to  Cuba 
by  battalions  and  stationed  at  Matanzas,  Cienfuegos 
and  Pinar  del  Rio.  There  a  fruitful  field  for  activity 
was  found  in  the  sanitation  and  engineering  prob- 
lems of  those  portions  of  the  Island,  until  May, 
1899,  when  the  Regiment  was  returned  to  the  United 

80 


states  and  mustered  out.  It  is  said  that  the  Com- 
manding General  of  the  Province  of  Santa  Clara, 
himself  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War  and  a  distin- 
guished soldier,  stated  that  in  all  his  experience  he 
had  never  seen  a  better  volunteer  regiment  than  was 
the  Third  Regiment  of  Volunteer  Engineers — a 
tribute  indeed  to  its  Colonel. 

After  the  war  came  various  duties,  carried  out 
with  characteristic  fidelity,  energy  and  ability. 
Colonel  Gaillard  never  was  satisfied  with  good 
enough.  Each  class  of  duty  was  marked  by  some 
achievement  in  the  betterment  of  methods. 

So  it  was  but  natural  that,  when  in  1906  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  was  engaged  in  organizing  the  staff 
of  engineers  for  the  great  work  at  Panama,  he  se- 
lected Colonel  Gaillard  as  one.  To  him  fell  the  task 
for  which  it  was  supposed  that  officers  of  the  Corps 
of  Engineers  from  their  training  and  experience 
were  least  fitted — the  completion  of  the  Culebra  Cut 
— supposedly  primarily  a  job  of  railroad  engineer- 
ing and  management.  How  well  he  did  this  work, 
how  the  useful  output  of  each  machine,  engine  and 
car  was  practically  doubled  under  Colonel  Gail- 
lard's  unceasing  care  is  a  matter  of  history.  To  us 
who  knew  the  man,  the  results  were  not  surprising 
— simply  expected.  It  was  a  wonderful  experience 
to  walk  through  the  cut  with  Colonel  Gaillard  on 
one  of  his  tours  of  inspection.  Not  a  step  was  with- 
out an  instructive  reminiscence,  and  not  a  recital 
without  that  humorous  accompaniment  which  was 
so  enjoyable.  The  torrid  heat  and  the  rough  going 
were  forgotten  and  the  six-mile  tramp  seemed  but  a 
short  stroll. 

Without  doubt  it  was  his  hard  work  and  anxiety 

81 


on  the  Isthmus  which  shortened  his  life,  but 
equally  without  doubt,  had  this  result  been  foreseen, 
the  work  would  have  been  done  with  the  same  dis- 
regard of  self. 

Any  memory  of  Colonel  Gaillard  would  be  in- 
complete without  some  allusion  to  his  home  life. 
From  the  day  when  she  came  to  Florida  as  a  bride, 
to  the  end,  Mrs.  Gaillard  was  always  the  devoted 
companion,  friend  and  helper.  With  their  son,  she 
shared  his  lot  always,  in  city  or  desert,  at  home,  in 
Cuba,  in  Panama.  No  one  who  visited  their  home 
at  Culebra  can  ever  forget  the  wonderful  scene  of 
beauty  created  there  out  of  what  had  been  a  jungle. 

It  was  fitting  that  both  houses  of  our  Congress 
should  have  taken  official  notice  of  the  death  of 
Colonel  Gaillard,  for  in  his  death  the  country  lost 
one  of  her  most  useful  citizens,  dead  in  line  of  duty. 
But  what  can  the  rest  of  us  do?  How  can  we  ex- 
press our  sense  of  personal  loss  of  a  man  admired 
and  respected  as  an  officer  and  an  engineer  and  be- 
loved as  a  friend!    (Feb.  10,  1915.) 

MAJ.-GEN.  W.  C.  GORGAS,  SURGEON  GENERAL,  U.  S.  A. 
(Late  Member  Isthmian  Canal  Commission) 

GAILLARD  AS  A  FRIEND 

I  first  met  Colonel  Gaillard  when  he  came  to 
Panama  in  1907,  and  was  thrown  with  him  very  in- 
timately for  the  next  six  years.  As  I  look  back 
through  my  life's  companionships  I  can  recollect 
few  men  for  whom  I  formed  as  great  a  personal  at- 
tachment as  I  did  for  Colonel  Gaillard.  Colonel 
Gaillard 's  work  was  located  for  about  nine  miles 
along  the  Culebra  Cut.  My  sanitary  inspections 
nearly  every  week  took  me  to  some  part  of  his  work. 

82 


I  would  usually  telephone  him  the  day  before,  let- 
ting him  know  where  my  sanitary  inspections  would 
carry  me,  and  ask  him  to  appoint  a  place  and  hour 
where  and  when  we  should  meet.  In  this  way  we  gen- 
erally spent  half  a  day  together  nearly  every  week. 
These  expeditions  are  among  the  most  agreeable 
recollections  which  I  retain  of  the  Isthmus.  He  was 
always  bright,  cheerful,  witty  and  entertaining. 

I  was  naturally  interested  in  the  great  engineer- 
ing problems  which  he  had  in  hand,  and  these  he 
had  the  faculty  of  making  most  clear  and  interest- 
ing to  my  non-engineering  mind. 

It  was  most  surprising  to  me  to  see,  from  week  to 
week,  as  I  went  on  the  work,  how  he  had  overcome 
the  difficulties  which  had  seemed  to  me  a  short  time 
before  insurmountable.  I  remember,  in  particular, 
my  surprise  at  the  astounding  way  in  which  he 
steadily  reduced  unit  cost  in  this  part  of  the  work 
during  the  years  of  his  administration. 

No  history  of  this  work  would  ever  be  able  to 
make  plain  the  handicaps  under  which  he  labored, 
and  the  administrative  difficulties  against  which 
he  had  to  contend.  It  was  a  source  of  great  satis- 
faction to  me  to  believe  that  my  liking  and  friend- 
ship were  returned  by  him.  We  were  together  the 
last  day  he  spent  on  the  Isthmus  and  lunched  to- 
gether just  before  he  sailed.  We  all  then  knew  that 
he  was  a  very  sick  man.  He  took  this  occasion  to 
express  to  me  his  warm  friendship,  and  it  is  a  great 
source  of  consolation  to  me  to  know  that  at  this, 
our  last  meeting,  I  was  enabled  to  make  him  under- 
stand how  near  and  how  valuable  a  friend  he  was 
tome.    (Oct.  9,1915.) 


83 


BRIG.-GEN.  W.  L.  SIBERT,  U.  S.  A. 
(Late  Member  Isthmian  Canal  Commission) 

(In  report  of  the  Forty-fifth  Annual  Reunion,  June,  1914,  of 
the  Association  of  the  Graduates  of  the  United  States  Military 
Academy.) 

Although  stricken  in  middle  age,  David  DuBose 
Gaillard  served  his  country  more  effectively  than 
most  men  are  able  to  do  in  the  ordinarily  allotted 
number  of  years.  His  most  striking  characteristic 
was  a  marked  alertness  of  both  mind  and  body, 
coupled  with  a  determination  to  know  every  detail 
of  the  work  on  which  he  was  engaged,  and  to  see 
that  every  step  taken  was  founded  on  correct  prin- 
ciples, be  that  step  physical  or  moral.  This  with  a 
genius  for  administration  and  organization  coupled 
with  indefatigable  energy,  constitute  a  combination 
from  which  great  results  should  follow.  We  conse- 
quently find  Gaillard  at  the  age  of  32  a  member 
of  the  International  Boundary  Commission  between 
the  United  States  and  Mexico.  Upon  first  call  to 
arms  in  the  Spanish-American  War,  we  find  him 
requisitioned  by  Major-General  Wade  for  duty  as 
Engineer  Officer  on  his  staff.  Then  we  find  him, 
although  only  a  captain  in  the  regular  establish- 
ment, appointed  Colonel  Third  Regiment,  United 
States  Volunteer  Engineers,  and  serving  in  Cuba. 
After  the  war  with  Spain  we  find  him  a  member  of 
the  General  Staff  Corps,  and  again  in  Cuba  during 
the  second  occupation  of  that  island  as  assistant 
to  the  chief  of  staff  of  the  forces  there.  Finally  we 
find  him  appointed  a  member  of  the  Isthmian  Canal 
Commission  and  assigned  to  a  duty  that  involved, 
among  other  things,  digging  the  great  cut  through 
the  Continental  Divide  at  Culebra,  the  most  trying, 

84 


discouraging  and  difficult  feature  connected  with 
the  building  of  the  Panama  Canal. 

The  surest  proof  of  duty  well  done  is  the  con- 
tinual selection  for  duties  more  and  more  important. 

In  the  performance  of  all  the  above  work,  the 
records  show  that  the  same  determination  to  forget 
self  and  to  fully  master  the  duty  at  hand,  whether 
that  duty  be  the  astronomical  observations  neces- 
sary in  establishing  an  international  boundary  line, 
the  preparation  of  a  volunteer  regiment  for  service 
in  the  field,  or  in  keeping  the  tracks  intact  and  the 
trains  and  shovels  going  in  spite  of  the  sliding 
mountain  sides  at  Culebra. 

When  Gaillard  was  selected  in  1907  as  a  member 
of  the  Isthmian  Canal  Commission  and  assigned  to 
a  duty  that  involved  cleaving  a  passage  way  for 
ships  through  the  Continental  Divide  at  Panama, 
every  one  recognized  the  stupendousness  of  the  task, 
and  furthermore  that  success  at  a  reasonable  cost 
involved  the  best  solution  of  an  intricate  problem 
in  railroad  transportation,  a  field  practically  new 
to  Gaillard.  The  work  was  under  way,  with  com- 
petent subordinates,  and  Gaillard  first  undertook  a 
complete  study  of  the  bigger  elements  of  the  prob- 
lem. 

He  noted  that  the  loaded  cars  were  takeni  from 
the  shovels  to  extensive  yards  and  there  made  up 
into  trains  and  sent  to  the  dumps.  His  studies 
indicated  that  if  trains  of  suitable  size  could  be  par- 
tially loaded  at  one  shovel,  passed  on  to  others,  and 
finally  when  completely  loaded  go  to  the  dumps, 
that  the  output  of  the  steam  shovels  would  be  in- 
creased and  that  the  same  railroad  transportation 
equipment  would  carry  this  increased  output  to  the 

8& 


dumps  and  thus  bring  about  a  material  decrease  in 
cost.  The  results  proved  the  correctness  of  his  de- 
ductions, and  the  resulting  system  of  train  move- 
ment in  the  Culebra  Cut  was  highly  praised  by 
many  visiting  railroad  transportation  men. 

After  studying  and  unifying  the  general  fea- 
tures of  the  work,  Gaillard  commenced  a  similar 
study  of  the  smaller  elements  with  a  view  of  further 
increasing  output  and  diminishing  cost.  This  in- 
volved an  immense  amount  of  work,  such  as  the 
selection  of  the  explosive  best  suited  to  the  various 
classes  of  rock,  the  best  depth  to  drill  holes  and 
how  best  to  space  them;  keeping  records  of  per- 
formance and  costs  of  repair  of  each  unit  of  the 
varied  and  extensive  plant;  the  relative  cost  of  sim- 
ilar operations  in  the  several  subdivisions  of  the 
work,  etc.,  etc. 

As  the  work  proceeded,  the  slides  and  other  dif- 
ficulties increased,  and  the  burden  became  more 
severe;  and  just  as  victory  was  in  sight  he  broke 
under  the  strain  and  was  unconscious  when  the  last 
barrier  was  destroyed  that  held  back  the  waters  of 
Gatun  Lake  from  his  essentially  completed  work. 

The  duty  done  and  the  results  accomplished  by 
Gaillard  for  his  country  are  of  permanent  record 
and  will  be  an  inspiration  for  many  young  gradu- 
ates of  our  Alma  Mater,  but  the  personal  side  of 
his  character,  his  unselfishness,  his  unfailing  cour- 
tesy, his  genial  manner,  his  quick,  brilliant  wit  can 
only  be  of  adequate  record  in  the  memory  of  those 
who  knew  him  through  sunshine  and  through  rain. 


86 


LIEUT.-COL.  CHESTER  HARDING 
Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  A. 

(Extract  from  a  lecture  on  "Personal  Recollections  of  the 
Work  on  the  Panama  Canal,"  delivered  before  the  Washington 
Society  of  Engineers  on  Jan.  6,  1914.) 

How  pathetic  it  is,  what  a  tragedy  it  is,  that  on 
the  day  that  the  waters  of  the  lake  first  flowed  into 
the  Culebra  Cut,  the  man  under  whose  brilliant  lead- 
ership the  victory  was  won,  was  lying  in  mortal 
illness  far  from  the  scene,  unconscious  of  his  tri- 
umph. His  fame  is  secure.  His  name  will  be  hon- 
ored as  one  who  sacrificed  his  life  in  the  perform- 
ance of  his  duty,  in  the  same  way  that  we  honor, 
and  teach  the  young  to  honor,  a  general  who  is  killed 
on  the  field  of  battle  while  leading  his  forces  to 
victory.  How  eminently  fitting  it  would  be  for  the 
Government  to  erect  a  monument  to  Gaillard  *s  mem- 
ory on  the  banks  of  the  Culebra  Cut. 


COL.  WILLOUGHBY  WALKE 

Coast  Artillery  Corps,  U.  S.  A. 

(Late  Major  Third  U.  S.  Volunteer  Engineers) 

AT  WEST   POINT 

Colonel  Gaillard  possessed  the  same  lovable 
traits  of  character  that  endeared  him  to  every  one 
who  knew  him,  while  his  standing  in  his  class 
clearly  indicated  the  high  mental  qualifications 
which  subsequently  won  for  him  the  high  esteem 
in  which  he  was  held,  not  only  by  members  of  his 
own  corps,  but  by  everyone  with  whom  he  came 
in  contact. 

Of  his  service  as  Colonel  of  the  Third  United 
States  Volunteer  Engineers,  it  is  unnecessary  for  me 
to  speak.     The  high  efficiency  and  excellent  disci- 

87 


pline  of  the  regiment  were  only  a  reflection  of  his 
personal  character. 

Although  firm  in  the  enforcement  of  discipline 
and  in  his  demand  that  every  man  perform  his  full 
duty,  it  was  nevertheless  a  great  pleasure  to  serve 
under  him,  and  I  shall  always  recall  my  service  in 
the  Third  Engineers  as  one  of  the  happiest,  as  well 
as  one  of  the  most  instructive,  periods  of  my  entire 
service  in  the  Army. 

In  recognition  of  his  crowning  success  in  over- 
coming the  almost  insuperable  difficulties  of  Culebra 
Cut,  which  made  the  Panama  Canal  a  possibility, 
his  name  will  surely  be  placed  among  those  of  the 
world's  greatest  engineers.     (Sept.  29,  1914.) 

PROF.  J.  L.  VAN  ORNUM 

Head  of  the  Department  of  Civil  Engineering,  Washington  Uni- 
versity; Associate  of  Colonel  Gaillard  Throughout 
Mexican  Boundary  Survey 
(Late  Major  Third  U.  S.  Volunteer  Engineers.) 

Colonel  Gaillard  was  a  distinguished  officer  of 
that  corps  of  our  military  establishment  celebrated 
for  illustrious  service.  His  exceptional  qualification 
for  duties  of  especial  importance  is  attested  by  the 
repeated  selection  of  him  for  positions  of  note- 
worthy trust,  such  as  those  of  Commissioner  of  the 
Mexican  Boundary  Survey,  Colonel  of  the  Third 
U.  S.  Volunteer  Engineers,  and  Isthmian  Canal 
Commissioner;  and  the  significance  of  his  achieve- 
ment in  the  removal  of  that  stupendous  barrier  at 
Panama  is  justly  recognized  in  the  name  ^*  Gaillard 
Cut,''  which  will  ever  remain  a  deserved  tribute  to 
him  who  gave  his  life  to  the  accomplishment  of  this 
unparalleled  undertaking.  He  was  held  in  highest 
respect  for  his  steadfast  integrity  and  his  intense 

88 


devotion  to  duty;  he  was  admired  for  his  discrim- 
inating judgment  and  his  productive  talent;  he  was 
honored  for  his  supreme  fidelity  to  his  country  *s  in- 
terests that  were  entrusted  to  his  care ;  he  was  sin- 
cerely esteemed  for  that  unassuming  sincerity  which 
is  characteristic  of  the  truly  great,  and  he  was  loved 
for  his  loyalty  to  his  friendships,  his  responsibilities 
and  his  ideals.    (May  1,  1914.) 

LIEUT.  JOHN  W.  BLACK 

(Late  First  Lieutenant  and  Battalion  Adjutant  Third  U.  S. 
Volunteer  Engineers) 

[Address  at  banquet  of  Officers  of  Third  U.  S.  Volunteer 
Engineers  at  Aragon  Hotel,  Atlanta,  May  17,  1899.  The  Regi- 
ment was  mustered  out  of  the  Volunteer  Army  of  the  Spanish 
War  upon  the  morning  of  that  day.] 

Mr.  Toastmaster  and  Fellow  Officers :  It  is  some- 
what of  a  surprise  to  me  to  have  been  called  upon 
to  supplement  the  remarks  which  have  just  been 
made,  inasmuch  as  I  have  been  with  you  so  short  a 
time*  that  I  cannot  be  expected  to  say  that  which 
might  best  express  your  sentiments.  However,  it 
has  required  but  a  short  association  with  you  to  dis- 
cover many  of  the  good  qualities  of  our  command- 
ing officer,  whose  efforts  seem  to  have  been  untiring 
for  the  good  of  the  regiment,  as  shown  by  the  high 
state  of  efficiency  to  which  it  has  attained,  which  has 
been  acknowledged  by  all  those  most  competent  to 
judge.  It  is  indeed  a  privilege  and  an  honor  to 
have  served  under  so  worthy  an  officer,  and  I  for  my 
part  shall  never  regret  having  joined  you  for  mus- 
ter out.  Although  we  all  may  not  have  gained  all 
we  anticipated  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  yet  we 
cannot  but  feel  assured  that  had  the  opportunity 

*Lieut.  Black  had  been  absent  on  detached  service  upon  the 
staff  of  General  James  H.  Wilson  until  a  short  time  before  the 
regiment  returned  from  Cuba. 

8» 


offered,  we  could  not  have  failed  to  gain  some  per- 
sonal glory,  as  a  reflection  of  his  worthy  leadership. 
But  after  all  it  is  not  the  strife  of  battle  alone  which 
develops  bravery,  nor  the  clash  of  arms  which 
makes  the  hero,  as  often  the  bivouac  and  the  camp 
bring  out  the  instincts  of  the  true  man  and  the  ideal 
soldier.  In  contemplating  the  short  time  we  would 
be  together  before  our  paths  in  life  would  again 
separate,  the  idea  impressed  me  that  it  would  be 
highly  fitting  for  us  to  present  our  worthy  colonel 
with  some  token  of  our  esteem,  and  appreciation  of 
his  efforts  in  our  behalf;  and  the  hearty  response 
which  met  my  suggestion  is  in  itself  enough  to  attest 
the  high  regard  in  which  he  is  held,  both  as  a  man 
and  a  soldier. 

Colonel  Gaillard,  I  have  the  pleasure  and  honor 
of  presenting  to  you  this  evening,  as  a  token  of  our 
esteem  and  good  will,  and  best  wishes  for  the  fu- 
ture, this  loving  cup.  May  it,  while  recalling  to  you 
the  scenes  of  the  campaign,  also  recall  the  personnel 
of  the  regiment,  and  the  good  fellowship  which  has 
always  existed  among  us.  We  have  tried  to  select 
something  which  would  be  acceptable,  and  which 
could  be  used  not  only  in  the  field,  but  in  your  own 
home,  where  it  can  be  enjoyed  by  your  estimable 
wife,  whose  presence  among  us  has  on  more  than 
one  occasion  helped  to  cheer  our  soldier  life,  and 
who  we  regret  could  not  have  been  with  us  at  mus- 
ter out.  It  is  our  earnest  wish  that  you  may  be 
spared  to  your  country  and  your  family  for  many 
years,  and  that  your  cup  of  happiness  may  be  filled 
to  the  brim.  May  you  in  the  years  to  come,  always 
find  some  of  us  to  drink  with  you  the  toast,  **The 
Third  United  States  Volunteer  Engineers. '  ^ 

90 


EDITORIAL  APPRECIATION 


EDITORIAL  APPRECIATION 

Colonel  Gaillard^s  death  called  forth  from  the  en- 
tire press  of  the  country  most  appreciative  editorial 
comments  upon  his  life  and  services  and  his  un- 
timely death.  It  is  difficult  to  recall  an  instance 
when  one  who  had  been  so  little  in  the  public  eye, 
and  whose  name  was  comparatively  little  known  to 
the  people  at  large,  has  received  tributes  of  appre- 
ciation from  so  great  a  variety  of  sources.  The  edi- 
torial comments  from  periodicals  and  newspapers 
would  of  themselves  make  a  large  volume.  It  is 
deeply  regretted  that  the  limitations  of  this  me- 
morial do  not  permit  the  inclusion  of  all  of  the  many 
editorial  tributes  which  a  generous  press  paid  to 
Colonel  Gaillard  at  the  time  of  his  death.  A  few  of 
these  comments  that  appeared  in  the  technical  and 
weekly  press  and  in  the  daily  press,  have  been  se- 
lected as  representing  the  warm  response  from  the 
whole  country. 

TECHNICAL  AND  WEEKLY  PRESS 
{Army  and  Navy  Journal    Dec.   13,   1913.) 

Lieut.-Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard,  Corps  of  En- 
gineers, U.  S.  A.,  whose  death  in  Baltimore,  Md., 
December  5,  1913,  we  briefly  noted  in  our  last  issue, 
was  an  officer  who  stood  exceedingly  high  in  his  pro- 
fession. He  is  the  first  of  the  army  engineers  em- 
ployed in  the  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal  to 
die  as  a  result  of  his  work,  which  is  considered  as 
undoubtedly  a  contributory  cause  of  his  illness,  al- 
though the  results  of  the  official  autopsy  made  pub- 

93 


lie  on  December  8th  indicate  that  the  immediate 
cause  of  death  was  an  infiltrating  tumor  in  the 
brain.    ... 

Colonel  Gaillard  had  the  digging  of  Culebra  Cut, 
without  doubt  the  greatest  and  most  difficult  work 
connected  with  the  construction  of  the  canal. 
Colonel  Gaillard  *s  work  at  Culebra,  it  is  estimated, 
saved  the  Government  $17,000,000. 

Colonel  Gaillard  was  in  New  York  last  spring  on  a 
leave  in  the  hope  that  the  rest  would  benefit  his 
health  to  the  extent  that  he  would  be  able  to  re- 
main in  the  Canal  Zone  to  see  his  part  of  the  work 
completed.  He  sailed  from  New  York  on  June  26 
last,  again  to  take  charge  of  the  work  in  the  Cen- 
tral Division.  He  had  to  return  North,  however,  a 
couple  of  months  later,  and  entered  the  Johns  Hop- 
kins Hospital  at  Baltimore,  where  he  had  been  a 
patient  since  August  17.  The  weight  of  responsi- 
bility, coupled  with  the  climatic  conditions  and  the 
long  hours  of  physical  work  had  undermined  his 
health. 

Last  month  a  bill  was  introduced  in  Congress  to 
promote  Colonel  Gaillard  to  the  rank  of  colonel  for 
his  distinguished  service.  He  lay  unconscious  at  the 
hospital  at  the  time  and  knew  nothing  of  the  wed- 
ding of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  with  the  blasting 
of  the  Gamboa  Dike  on  October  10. 

At  the  Panama  Canal  20,000  workers  on  the 
Culebra  section  were  to  interrupt  their  work  and 
stand  at  attention  for  five  minutes  on  December  8, 
at  the  time  of  the  funeral  of  Colonel  Gaillard,  who 
was  chief  engineer  of  this  section  of  the  canal.  The 
Senate  passed  a  resolution  expressing  sympathy, 
and  Secretary  of  War  Garrison  sent  a  telegram  of 

94 


condolence  to  Mrs.  Gaillard  as  soon  as  he  learned 

of  her  husband's  death. 

>• 

[Professional  Memoirs,  Corps  of  Engineers,  United  States 
Army  and  Engineer  Department  at  Large,  January-February, 
1914,  pp.  133-4.] 

LIBUT.-COL.  DAVID  DuBOSE  GAILLARD 

(The  article,  after  giving  an  interesting  account 
of  Colonel  Gaillard 's  life,  with  detailed  references 
to  his  engineering  and  military  service,  con- 
cludes) : 

The  foregoing  brief  record  of  Colonel  Gaillard 's 
professional  services  speaks  eloquently  for  his  talents 
and  ability.  In  his  more  than  twenty-nine  years  of 
continuous  active  service,  he  has  filled  positions  of 
great  responsibility  and  trust,  covering  a  wide  and 
varied  field  of  duty,  both  as  a  military  and  as  a 
civil  engineer.  His  successful  prosecution  of  the 
monumental  work  on  the  Culebra  Cut  of  the  Panama 
Canal,  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  trying  of  en- 
gineering problems,  constitutes  a  crowning  achieve- 
ment in  a  life  characterized  by  conscientiousness, 
loyalty  and  modesty. 

His  friends  and  intimates  will  remember  Colonel 
Gaillard,  not  only  for  professional  attainments  of 
the  highest  order,  but  also  for  his  character  as  a 
man,  husband  and  father.  Possessed  of  a  cheerful 
temperament  and  of  a  never-failing  good  humor,  he 
was  always  a  welcome  addition  to  any  gathering.  A 
life  so  well  spent  must  indeed  serve  as  an  inspira- 
tion to  coming  generations. 


95 


HALBERT  P.  GILLETT 
Editor-in-Chief  of  Engineering  and  Contracting 
(In  an  Editorial,  Dec.  10,  1913) 

DAVID  DuBOSE  GAILLARD,  AUTHOR 

The  death  of  David  DuBose  Gaillard  will  cause 
much  to  be  said  about  his  construction  work  as  an 
engineer.  His  fidelity  to  the  task  of  directing  the 
largest  single  excavation  that  man  has  yet  carved 
through  a  mountain — the  Culebra  Cut — has  cost  him 
his  life.  This  tragic  end  will  merit  all  the  public 
notice  that  it  will  receive. 

Before  Gaillard  went  to  Panama  he  performed  a 
great  work  which  is  unknown  to  the  general  public, 
and  of  which  few  engineers  have  knowledge.  He  had 
made  a  most  painstaking  series  of  tests  and  had 
written  an  exhaustive  treatise  that  was  published 
nine  years  ago  as  Professional  Paper  No.  31  of  the 
Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  A.,  entitled  ' '  Wave  Action 
in  Eelation  to  Engineering  Structures.**  At  the 
time  of  its  publication  the  writer  was  one  of  the 
editors  of  Engineering  News,  and  it  fell  to  his  lot 
to  condense  **  Paper  No.  31'*  into  an  article.  But  to 
abstract  such  a  paper  was  not  the  task  of  a  few 
hours,  nor  even  of  a  few  days.  The  paper  was  of 
absorbing  interest  to  the  writer,  not  because  this 
was  on  a  subject  of  which  he  knew  much,  but  be- 
cause of  its  authorship.  Here  was  an  author  who 
has  undertaken  to  present  to  the  engineering  world 
not  merely  a  mass  of  data — although  that  alone 
would  have  merited  its  reward — but  who  had  under- 
taken to  analyze  the  data  and  derive  useful  gen- 
eralization therefrom.  This  was  noteworthy  author- 
ship, and  the  deeper  the  writer  studied  the  paper 
the  more  its  merit  impressed  him.     Three   solid 

96 


weeks  were  spent  in  the  study  of  Gaillard  's  treatise, 
and  in  condensing  it  into  an  article,  which  was  then 
submitted  to  the  author  for  review.  His  letter  of 
reply  was  full  compensation  for  all  the  work  that 
the  article  represented. 

Any  careful  student  of  Professional  Paper  No.  31 
could  scarcely  fail  to  see  therein  a  picture  of  the 
man  who  wrote  it.  The  picture  is  one  of  a  highly 
trained,  analytical  man  of  science,  gifted  with  a 
great  thoroughness  of  application  to  the  problem 
in  hand. 

The  picture  is  not  that  of  a  man  of  ^^pure 
science, '  ^  either,  of  one  who  delves  for  facts  merely 
for  the  pleasure  of  finding  what  is  new.  The  picture 
is  of  the  scientific  man  who  seeks  facts  with  the 
object  of  their  immediate,  useful  application.  It  is 
the  picture  of  an  engineer.  That  it  is  the  picture  of 
a  great  engineer  there  was  no  doubt  in  the  writer's 
mind  nine  years  ago,  and  time  has  merely  served  to 
bring  into  more  pronounced  relief  the  greatness  of 
the  man. 

CHARLES  WHITING  BAKER 

Editor-in-Chief  of  Engineering  News 

(In  a  letter  to  the  New  York  Times,  Dec.  22,  1913) 

To  the  Editor  of  The  New  York  Times : 

Your  editorial  article,  commenting  on  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  late  Col.  D.  DuB.  G^aillard  in  the  Panama 
Canal  work  and  urging  suitable  recognition  by  Con- 
gress, deserves  commendation.  It  is  probably  little 
realized  by  the  general  public  how  many  millions  of- 
dollars  have  been  saved  to  the  United  States  by  the 
quality  of  the  service  that  has  been  rendered  by  our 
engineers  who  have  conducted  the  work  at  Panama. 
Colonel  Gaillard  was  distinguished  among  his  as- 

97 


sociates  by  the  enthusiasm  with  which  he  worked. 
No  college  football  captain  trains  his  team  with  a 
more  eager  zest  than  Colonel  Gaillard  displayed  in 
the  conduct  of  his  huge  task — the  largest  job  of  ex- 
cavation by  far  that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  And 
let  me  summarize  in  a  word  the  results:  The  rock 
of  the  Culebra  Cut  has  been  blasted,  excavated,  load- 
ed on  cars,  hauled  some  fourteen  miles  and  spread 
on  the  dump.  The  work  has  been  carried  on  2,000 
miles  from  the  base  of  supplies,  with  a  plant  bought 
at  the  boom  prices  of  1907,  with  skilled  labor  receiv- 
ing the  highest  wages  ever  known,  with  inefficient 
colored  labor  of  the  tropics  to  perform  the  ordinary 
tasks,  with  the  heat  and  rains  of  a  tropical  climate, 
to  say  nothing  of  constantly  recurring  slides  and 
floods.  Under  all  those  conditions,  the  cost  per  cubic 
yard  of  the  Culebra  Cut  excavation  has  been  only 
some  two-thirds  the  cost  of  the  rock  excavation  on 
the  Chicago  Drainage  Canal,  built  in  the  '90  's,  where 
the  rock  was  merely  dumped  in  a  pile  on  the  bank 
beside  the  canal. 

I  sincerely  trust  that  Congress  will  suitably  recog- 
nize Colonel  Gaillard 's  service,  not  alone  because 
such  recognition  is  peculiarly  deserved  where  a  man 
yields  up  his  life  in  his  country's  service,  but  be- 
cause such  recognition  is  necessary  to  counteract 
the  oft-repeated  charge  that  republics  are  ungrate- 
ful. Such  devoted  public  service  as  Colonel  Gaillard 
gave  is  needed  everywhere ;  and  the  country  can  well 
afford  to  deal  generously  with  those  who  give  their 
lives  in  such  service. 


m 


{Engineering  Record,  New  York,  Dec.  13,  1913) 
DEATH  OF  COLONEL  GAILLARD 

The  death  of  Lieut.-Col.  David  DuB.  Gaillard  in 
Baltimore  last  week  marks  the  first  break  in  the 
ranks  of  those  great  engineers  to  whom  the  Panama 
achievement  is  to  be  credited.  Not  less  bravely  than 
the  soldier  whose  career  ends  on  the  battlefield  did 
he  give  up  his  life  in  the  service  of  his  country. 
With  the  other  men  still  fighting  the  engineering 
battles  on  the  Isthmus,  his  name  will  go  down  in 
history,  for  the  Panama  Canal  will  assume  impor- 
tant rank  in  American  annals. 

(Engineering  News,  New  York,  Dec.  11,  1913) 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  a  man  who  cc*  • 
tributed  so  much  to  the  success  of  this  great  enter- 
prise, for  which  he  truly  gave  his  life,  should  not 
have  lived  to  witness  its  completion,  or  at  least  to 
have  died  with  the  knowledge  that  every  detail  gave 
proof  of  ultimate  success. 

This  is  particularly  the  case  because  of  all  those 
occupying  positions  of  high  responsibility  in  con- 
nection with  the  great  work  at  Panama,  Gaillard 
will  by  common  consent  be  awarded  chief  place  for 
enthusiastic  interest  in  the  work.  Many,  if  not  most 
engineers,  as  they  advance  in  years,  become  so  ac- 
customed to  the  routine  of  professional  work  that 
they  follow  it  from  force  of  habit  and  lose  the  inter- 
est in  it  that  animated  them  in  the  years  when  life 
was  new.  But  Colonel  Gaillard  was  a  man  who  pos- 
sessed in  rare  degree  the  quality  of  youthful  enthu- 
siasm, a  quality  that  made  him  most  attractive  as  a 
friend  and  as  a  co-worker. 

99 


From  one  point  of  view,  his  task  was  one  of  the 
least  spectacular  on  the  Isthmus,  even  though  in 
point  of  dollars  spent  and  material  moved  it  was  the 
hugest  of  all.  The  great  feat  that  he  accomplished 
in  this  task  was  not  the  battling  with  slides  or  the 
design  of  the  plant  and  equipment.  It  is  expressed 
in  the  statement  that  this  huge  piece  of  excavation, 
the  largest  ever  undertaken  in  the  world,  beset  by- 
many  great  difficulties,  all  tending  to  make  the  work 
unduly  expensive,  has  been  carried  out  at  a  cost  per 
cubic  yard  removed  which  has  seldom  been  even 
approached  in  work  carried  on  anywhere  in  the 
world  under  the  most  favorable  conditions. 

(Railway  and  Engineering  Review,  Chicago,  111.,  Dec.  13,  1913) 
DEATH  OF  LIEUTENANT  COLONEL  GAILLARD 

Lieut.-Col.  David  DuBose  Graillard,  United  States 
Army,  who  directed  the  engineering  work  in  the 
Culebra  Cut,  a  division  of  the  Panama  Canal,  died 
at  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital  in  Baltimore,  Wednes- 
day, December  5.  .  .  .  His  ability  as  a  supervising 
officer  and  as  an  engineer  has  been  commended  in 
the  highest  terms,  and  much  regret  is  expressed  at 
the  occurrence  of  his  death  just  at  the  time  of 
the  completion  of  his  monumental  task. 

{Steam  Shovel  and  Dredge,  New  York,  Dec,  1913) 

The  death  of  the  distinguished  engineer  will  cause 
a  pang  of  sorrow  in  the  hearts  of  the  hundreds  of 
men  who  worked  under  him  on  the  Panama  Canal, 
for  he  was  greatly  respected  and  admired  by  all 
who  came  in  contact  with  him.     .     .     . 

No  soldier  ever  won  fame  in  a  more  deserving 
way  than  did  Colonel  Gaillard.    His  deeds  were  not 

100 


of  the  heroic  kind  on  the  field  of  battle,  but  they 
were  none  the  less  valuable  to  the  world,  and  his 
place  is  secure  in  the  history  of  the  country.  .  .  . 
As  a  man,  Colonel  Gaillard  was  kind-hearted  and 
always  took  a  keen  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the 
common  laborers.  To  him  the  common  laborer  was 
just  as  important  as  the  highly  skilled  mechanic, 
for  he  was  interested  in  seeing  that  justice  was  done 
to  all.  That  is  why  his  death  will  be  mourned  in  the 
canal  zone. 

VAUGHAN  CORNISH 

(In  Geographical  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society, 

London,  Feb.,  1914) 

In  1908,  on  my  second  visit  to  the  Panama  Canal 
works,  I  found  Colonel  Gaillard  installed  as  en- 
gineer in  charge  of  the  Culebra  Cut.  Thanks  to  his 
organization,  everything  worked  smoothly  and  rap- 
idly, and  the  neatly  terraced  sides  of  the  cut  stood 
firmly.  But  when  I  next  visited  the  canal  in  1910, 
the  bottom  of  the  cut  was  already  upheaving.  Con- 
sequently, during  the  last  four  years  of  his  life  he 
thought  and  labored  unceasingly  upon  an  excava- 
tion of  which  the  sides  would  not  stand  up,  and  a 
construction  of  which  the  foundation  sank.  He  was 
an  active,  alert  and  vigorous  man,  in  the  prime  of 
life.  His  intelligence  was  above  the  common  and 
his  mind  worked  quickly.  His  great  personal  charm 
gave  him  many  friends,  and  he  had  that  wide  range 
of  intellectual  interest  which  is  so  useful  to  a  man 
burdened  by  an  arduous  task.  But  at  last  the  strain 
broke  him.  Such  a  work  as  the  dividing  of  a  con- 
tinent requires  the  sacrifice  of  men  as  well  as  money 
and  Gaillard  spent  himself  willingly  in  the  execution 
of  his  task. 

101 


(Collier's  Weekly\  Jan.  3,  1914) 

David  DuBose  Gaillard,  hero  of  the  great  Culebra 
Cut,  was  buried  the  other  day  in  Arlington,  dead  at 
fifty-four.  In  energy  and  efficiency,  in  loyalty  and 
honor,  he  was  a  true  son  of  that  new  South  which 
has  risen  from  the  ashes  of  our  Civil  War.  In  con- 
structive genius  he  was  a  peer  of  De  Lesseps  arid 
the  other  great  engineers  of  the  French  stock.  Our 
statesmen  and  millionaires  shrink  and  fade  most 
pitifully  when  we  set  their  performances  against 
the  modest  devotion  to  duty  which  was  this  man's 
life. 

(The  Outlook,  Dec.  20,  1913) 
GAILLARD:  SOLDIER  OP  PEACE 

Something  like  twenty-five  years  ago  a  young 
journalist  by  the  name  of  Rudyard  Kipling  made  a 
prophecy.  *^Some  day,''  he  said  (we  quote  from 
memory),  *Hhe  American  Army  will  make  the  finest 
engineering  corps  in  the  world."  The  American 
Army  is  today  a  great  deal  more  than  a  fine  en- 
engineering  corps,  but  no  one  will  deny  that  this 
prophecy  of  Mr.  Kipling  has  been  justified  by  the 
facts.  Engineers  of  the  American  Army  owe  the 
high  position  which  they  hold  today  not  chiefly  to 
their  skill  in  planning  means  of  scientific  destruc- 
tion, but  to  their  constructive  achievements  in  the 
realm  of  peace.  Not  the  least  among  these  leaders 
of  the  new  army  was  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gaillard, 
now  dead  on  the  field  of  battle.  The  war  in  which  he 
was  engaged  was  not  with  man,  but  for  man,  and 
with  forces  of  Nature.  Since  1907  he  had  been  in 
charge  of  the  central  division  of  the  Panama  Canal, 

102 


concerned  with  the  stupendous  operations  at  the 
Culebra  Cut,  that  nine-mile  artificial  valley  which 
we  have  made  through  the  backbone  of  the  Isthmus. 

{Nation,  New  York,  Dec.  11,  1913) 

The  death  of  Colonel  Gaillard,  the  conquerer  of 
Culebra  Cut,  comes  pathetically  close  upon  the  com- 
pletion of  the  historic  task.  In  a  very  real  sense  he 
gave  his  life  to  his  work.  Unremitting  toil  broke 
his  health,  and  one  likes  to  imagine  that  it  was  only 
a  brave  spirit  which  held  him  on  the  Isthmus  till  the 
work  in  hand  was  done.  That  task  was  carried  on 
in  the  manner  of  the  true  workman,  outside  of  the 
glare  of  publicity  and  with  thought  only  for  the 
matter  in  hand.  Had  Colonel  Gaillard  lived  a  few 
months,  the  Nation  would  have  undoubtedly  ex- 
pressed its  recognition  of  his  services. 

(The  Human  Factor,  New  York,  March,  1914) 

The  engineers  of  the  American  Army  owe  the 
high  position  which  they  hold  today  not  so  much 
to  their  skill  in  planning  means  of  destroying  life  as 
to  their  constructive  achievements  in  the  realm  of 
peace. 

Among  the  most  successful  of  these  was  the  late 
Lieut.-Col.  D.  D.  Gaillard — one  of  the  heroic  figures 
in  the  great  historic  achievement  of  severing  the 
continents  at  Panama.     .     .     . 

He  served  his  country  and  humanity  with  heroic 
fidelity,  and  gave  up  his  life  on  the  altar  of  patriot- 
ism, fighting  not  with  man,  but  for  man  in  conquer- 
ing the  forces  of  nature. 


103 


DAILY    PRESS 
(Atlanta,  Ga.,  Constitution,  Dec.  10,  1913) 

The  change  in  world  trade  and  the  vast  era  of  de- 
velopment that  will  follow  the  opening  of  the  canal 
will  be  attributable  as  much  to  the  energy  and  the 
sacrifice  of  such  men  as  Gaillard  as  to  the  enterprise 
and  wealth  of  the  American  people.  When  it  is  said 
that  this  labor  was  the  most  gigantic  of  those  labors 
of  Hercules  which  have  characterized  the  construc- 
tion of  the  waterway,  the  achievement  of  Colonel 
Gaillard  is  seen  in  its  proper  proportion. 

(Baltimore  American,  Dec.  6,  1913) 

Lieut.-Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard,  the  man  whose 
practical  genius  contributed  so  much  toward  build- 
ing the  canal,  an  engineer  of  the  highest  type,  be- 
sides being  a  man  of  the  worthiest  ideals  and  noblest 
aspirations,  has  left  behind  him  a  name  whose  luster 
will  be  none  the  less  because  he  died  upon  the  brink 
of  the  full  achievement  of  the  task  to  which  he  de- 
voted his  life.  The  man  who  breathed  his  last  in 
Baltimore,  the  city  destined  to  have  a  new  era  as  a 
result  of  his  enterprise,  will  be  remembered  forever 
by  his  fellow  countrymen  and  his  name  will  stand 
for  the  best  traditions  of  army  service  and  of  patri- 
otic carrying  on  of  a  herculean  undertaking.  So  that 
despite  the  pathetic  incidents  of  his  closed  career,  it 
is  one  that  will  be  a  heritage  to  his  family  and  to  the 
nation. 

(Baltimore  News,  Dec.  31,  1913) 
A  MONUMENT  TO  GAILLARD 

James  Bryce  says  that  in  the  construction  of  the 
Panama  Canal  man  has  taken  more  liberties  with  Na- 

104 


ture  than  in  any  other  instance  in  history.  The  Cu- 
lebra  Cut  in  particular  has  appealed  powerfully  to 
the  popular  imagination.  In  a  recent  article  by  the 
editor  of  Engineering  News  the  statement  is  made 
that  this  work  is  the  *^  largest  job  of  excavation  by 
far  that  the  world  has  ever  seen. '  ^ 

It  appears,  also,  that  not  only  is  it  the  most  colos- 
sal undertaking  of  its  kind  but  it  has  been  carried 
out  with  remarkable  economy  and  efficiency.  It  had 
to  be  done  **2000  miles  from  the  base  of  supplies, 
with  a  plant  bought  at  the  boom  prices  that  pre- 
vailed in  1907,  with  skilled  labor  receiving  the  high- 
est wages  ever  known,  with  the  heat  and  rains  of  a 
tropical  climate,  to  say  nothing  of  constantly  recur- 
ring floods  and  slides ' ' ;  but,  in  spite  of  all  the  disad- 
vantages, the  cost  per  cubic  yard  of  excavating  Cu- 
lebra  Cut  was  only  two-thirds  the  cost  of  rock  exca- 
vation for  the  Chicago  drainage  canal. 

And  the  man  who,  more  than  any  other,  did  it  was 
Gaillard,  the  pathetic  circumstances  of  whose  death 
have  touched  the  nation  ^s  heart.  There  is  something 
particularly  appropriate  in  the  suggestion  that  a 
monument  to  him  be  erected  on  one  of  the  hills  over- 
looking the  cut,  where  it  would  stand  permanently 
as  evidence  that  republics  are  not  ungrateful. 

(Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  News,  Dec.  10,  1913) 
"IN  SIGHT  OF  THE  GOAL  " 

There  is  appropriate  comment,  both  in  tone  and 
quality,  upon  the  death  of  Col.  David  Gaillard,  who 
built  the  Culebra  Cut  at  Panama,  and  wrecked  his 
health,  and  died  while  his  triumph  was  about  to  be 
celebrated. 

And  it  is  being  said  that  it  is  too  bad  that  he  could 

105 


not  have  lasted  until  he  saw  the  realization  of  his 
hopes — and  too  bad,  too,  that  he  wore  his  life  out, 
there,  in  the  accomplishment  that  took  his  very  self 
before  it  would  yield. 

Neither  of  these  things  is  too  bad,  when  you  come 
to  think  of  it. 

Colonel  Gaillard  was  not  working  Culebra  Cut 
for  the  sight  and  sound  of  the  hurrahing  millions 
who  would  celebrate  the  final  completion  of  the  work. 
He  was  working  there  because  it  was  his  work,  and 
his  reward  was  in  the  knowledge  that  his  papers 
showed  him  from  day  to  day,  that  a  good  day^s  work 
was  being  done. 

And  as  to  wearing  his  life  out — ^why,  after  all,  it 
was  only  a  matter  of  a  few  years,  anyhow — *'and 
whoso  would  save  his  life  must  lose  it. ' '  This  latter 
is  written  in  a  higher  authority,  even,  than  the  en- 
gineering rules  by  which  they  chart  canals. 

Colonel  Gaillard  didn  ^t  wear  his  life  out,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  nor  does  any  man  wear  his  life  out  who 
does  conscientiously  a  thing  which  is  his  to  do. 

Colonel  Gaillard  built  his  life  into  that  marvel  of 
the  ages  by  which  the  mountain  range  of  the  Isth- 
mus was  separated  and  the  oceans  joined. 

Perhaps  there  is  something  pathetic  in  the  fact 
that  he  died  **in  sight  of  the  goal,'^  but  perhaps  it 
was  just  as  well.  For  he  knew,  at  least,  that  the  goal 
had  not  been  missed. 

(Beaumont,  Tex.,  Journal,  Dec.  10,  1913) 
IN  HONOR  OF  A  HERO  OF  PEACE 

Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard,  Corps  of  Engineers, 
U.  S.  A.,  and  member  of  the  Isthmian  Canal  Com- 
mission, has  passed  away. 

106 


From  the  nature  of  his  ailment  since  his  return 
to  this  country  last  August,  a  fatal  ending  was  ex- 
pected by  those  closely  acquainted  with  the  circum- 
stances, and  still  his  demise  at  Baltimore  has  cast 
a  gloom  over  that  host  which  knew  him  best  at  the 
big  ditch. 

For  seven  long  years  this  modest  individual  la- 
bored most  heroically  on  the  most  difficult  task  in  the 
construction  of  the  Panama  Canal.  For  seven  long 
years  he  stood  at  his  post  amidst  all  the  unhealthy 
environment  and  the  discouraging  beginnings  of  that 
work  up  to  almost  its  very  end,  undismayed  by  the 
reiJeated  slides  which  might  have  daunted  a  less  con- 
fident and  resourceful  man. 

As  the  sun  descended  the  western  horizon  night 
after  night  this  man  would  hope  against  hope  that 
the  dawn  of  the  next  day  would  not  show  the  work 
of  the  day  before  undone,  but  still  he  resumed  his 
labor  with  irresistible  progress  and  in  the  end  saw 
the  great  undertaking  nearing  completion  within  the 
time  promised,  but  like  the  seer  of  old,  was  not  al- 
lowed to  behold  its  fulfillment. 

On  the  very  day  on  which  his  completed  work  was 
given  to  the  world,  he  lay  unconscious  and  without 
hope  of  recovery,  and  it  is  one  of  the  inscrutable 
decrees  of  fate  that  he  should  not  have  been  spared 
to  witness  the  culmination  of  the  great  undertaking 
in  which  he  bore  so  notable  a  part. 

Let  the  nation  shed  a  tear  at  the  grave  of  this  hero 
of  peace. 

(Boston  Olohe,  Dec.  8,  1913) 
SACRIFICED  HIS  LIFE 

Fate,  seemingly  unkind,  decreed  that  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Gaillard  should  not  live  to  participate  in  the 

107 


final  triumphs  of  American  engineering  skill  on  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama. 

The  faithful  servant  is  dead. 

The  guns  will  thunder  and  the  bands  will  play  in 
time  to  come  as  the  ships  of  many  nations  pass  in 
procession  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  formally 
celebrating  the  marriage  of  the  oceans,  but  he  will 
not  be  there  to  witness  and  enjoy  the  spectacle. 

Literally  it  is  true  that  he  sacrificed  his  life  for 
his  country.     .     .     . 

We  suggest  that  Culebra  Cut  might  well  be  re- 
christened  Gaillard  Cut  to  perpetuate  the  name  and 
the  fame  of  the  man  who  dug  it. 

(The  Buffalo  Enquirer,  Dec.  14,  1913) 

The  country  has  had  no  martyr  of  exactly  the 
Gaillard  kind  before.  *  ^  Culebra ' '  means  nothing  to 
this  country.  It  is  a  name  that  can  be  spared.  ^  ^  Gail- 
lard'' means  much.  It  should  be  placed  where  the 
country  will  ever  keep  it  in  mind.  What  better  place 
than  on  the  mighty,  continent-cleaving  cleft  he  dug? 

(Cedar  Rapids,  la..  Gazette,  Dec.  10,  1913) 
A  HERO  WORTH  REMEMBERING 

The  late  Colonel  Gaillard,  who  died  in  Baltimore 
last  week,  has  been  widely  eulogized.  And  certainly 
few  Americans  have  deserved  such  encomiums  as 
have  been  tendered  this  man — after  he  has  passed 
away. 

For  seven  years  as  member  of  the  Canal  Commis- 
sion and  Colonel  of  Engineers,  Gaillard  labored 
heroically  on  the  Culebra  Cut.  To  him  had  been  as- 
signed the  most  difficult  task  in  the  construction  of 

108 


the  Panama  Canal,  nothing  less  than  cutting  a  water 
path  through  the  backbone  of  the  American  conti- 
nent. Undismayed  by  the  repeated  slides  that  might 
have  daunted  a  less  confident  and  resourceful  man 
he  kept  steadily  at  the  task,  never  sure  that  dawn 
would  not  show  the  work  of  the  day  before  undone, 
but  resuming  his  irresistible  progress  that  in  the  end 
completed  the  great  undertaking  within  the  time 
promised.  To  his  professional  efficiency  he  added  a 
patriotic  purpose  of  economical  administration. 
Most  of  the  time  he  was  without  a  chief  assistant  and 
personally  supervised  details  as  well  as  directing  the 
general  organization.  It  has  been  estimated  that  he 
saved  $17,000,000  on  the  cost  of  the  central  division 
of  the  canal. 

(Chicago  Tribune,  Aug.  21,  1913) 

GAILLARD  OF  CULEBRA:    A  MAN  WHO  DESERVES  WELL 
OF  HIS  COUNTRY 

If  he  had  held  a  city  against  desperate  siege  for 
month  after  month,  he  would  have  been  called  *Hhe 

hero  of , ' '  every  school  boy  would  know  his 

name,  and  a  thrill  would  have  run  through  the  na- 
tion when  the  report  of  his  physical  breakdown  ap- 
peared in  large  headlines  in  the  press. 

But  David  DuBose  Gaillard  has  been  engaged  in  a 
task  more  difficult,  perhaps,  and  as  important  to  his 
country,  and  he  has  paid,  the  penalty  of  his  grim 
resolution,  his  duty  and  his  enthusiasm,  and  now  lies 
perilously  ill  in  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital  just  as  his 
splendid  service  is  nearing  its  completion.  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Gaillard  is  the  man  of  the  Culebra 
Cut.  It  is  he  who,  day  by  day,  has  directed  and  per- 
sonally led  the  fight  against  the  treacherous  slides, 

109 


mastered  their  strategy  and  won  the  fight  for  the 
canal. 

For  months  Colonel  Gaillard's  strength  has  been 
yielding,  it  is  reported,  to  the  strain,  yet  he  has 
worked  12  hours  a  day  much  of  the  time  in  the  stag- 
gering heat  of  the  cut.  Finally  Nature  demanded 
her  fee,  and  Gaillard  of  Culebra  fell  like  a  com- 
mander on  the  field  of  victory.  Whether  he  will  sur- 
vive or  whether  he  will  be  restored  to  health  cannot 
now  be  predicted.  But  no  man  who  ever  laid  down 
his  life  on  a  field  for  the  republic  better  deserves  its 
gratitude  and  the  memory  of  his  countrymen  than 
David  DuBose  Gaillard,  conqueror  of  Culebra. 

(Chicago  Tribune,  Dec.  7,  1913) 
GAILLARD  OP  CULEBRA 

No  man  who  fell,  sword  in  hand,  under  the  flag, 
died  for  his  country  more  gallantly  than  David  Du- 
Bose Gaillard,  the  conqueror  of  Culebra.  He  gave 
himself  without  stint  while  he  lived,  and  he  laid  his 
life  on  the  altar — ^Hhe  last  full  measure  of  devo- 
tion.^' 

^  ^  Gaillard  dug  indomitably, ' '  says  the  dispatch  an- 
nouncing his  death.  ' '  Hill  after  hill  found  its  angle 
of  repose,  and  he  checked  the  landslides,  save  at  Cu- 
caracha  and  points  nearby.  Their  sliding  was  per- 
sistent, but  had  visibly  weakened  when  the  engineer 
was  compelled  to  stop  his  work  and  seek  rest. 

^*For  the  greater  period  of  his  work  on  the  Isth- 
mus, Colonel  Gaillard  was  without  a  chief  assistant. 
He  wanted  to  save  money.  He  gave  his  attention 
not  only  to  the  great  engineering  problems  but  to 
all  the  details  of  shovel  work,  train  work,  and  drain- 

110 


age.  He  checked  up  on  small  things,  and  once  it  was 
computed  that  by  his  careful  oversight  he  had  saved 
the  Government  $17,000,000. 

**Men  who  worked  with  him  said  he  gave  twelve 
hours  of  each  day  to  the  Culebra  Cut.  In  addition 
he  had  a  voice  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  engineer- 
ing work  in  the  Zone,  to  civil  administration,  and  to 
the  general  conduct  of  affairs. 

' '  The  hard  work,  the  nervous  strain,  the  worry, 
and  the  tropical  climate  combined  broke  his  health 
at  the  hour  of  his  final  triumph.  There  was  little 
left  then  to  be  done  but  to  remove  the  soft  earth  of 
the  slide  at  Cucaracha.'' 

Congress  should  honor  the  memory  of  David  Gail- 
lard  in  some  substantial  way.  It  owes  it  to  Gaillard, 
to  the  Army,  and  to  the  American  people. 

(Chicago  Evening  Post,  April  30,  1915) 
GAILLARD  CUT 

President  Wilson  has  signed  an  executive  order 
changing  the  name  of  Culebra  Cut  in  the  Panama 
Canal  to  ^^ Gaillard  Cut''  in  honor  of  the  late  Col. 
David  D.  Gaillard,  who  died  from  disease  contracted 
in  the  building  of  the  canal. 

The  Post  was  one  of  the  first  newspapers  in  the 
United  States  to  suggest  this  tribute  to  as  gallant  a 
soldier,  as  fine  an  engineer,  as  splendid  a  gentleman 
as  ever  graced  the  roll  of  the  United  States  Army. 

Gaillard  was  one  of  the  knights  of  the  old  Kound 
Table,  transferred  from  the  chivalrous  age  of 
Launcelot  and  Guinevere  to  the  practical  age  of  con- 
crete mixers  and  steam  dredges.  It  seems  strange 
but  the  qualities  of  Launcelot 's  day  had  as  free  play 
in  the  jungle-ridden  paths  of  Panama  as  they  had  in 

111 


the  court  of  King  Arthur.  In  both  it  was  the  rela- 
tion between  man  and  man  that  counted.  Here  Gail- 
lard  was  knightliness  itself. 

From  a  technical  standpoint,  the  work  of  Gaillard 
was  that  of  one  of  the  four  greatest  men  that  the 
canal  has  produced.  How  great  his  work  was,  in- 
deed, will  probably  not  be  known  till  the  final  ver- 
dict of  history  is  passed  upon  the  mighty  job  of  join- 
ing the  two  oceans. 

To  the  country  *^ Gaillard  Cut"  will  stand  as  a 
memorial  to  an  unselfish  soldier  and  a  great  en- 
gineer. To  his  friends  it  will  be  a  monument  to  a 
gallant  knight.  In  both  cases  it  is  fitting  and  appro- 
priate. 

(Cleveland,  Ohio,  Leader,  Dec.  14,  1913) 

The  suggestion  is  made  by  the  Boston  Glohe  that 
the  name  Culebra  Cut  be  abandoned  and  this  most 
difficult  part  of  the  Panama  Canal  be  officially  re- 
ciiristened  ^*  Gaillard  Cut.'^ 

The  reasons  for  this  are  so  obvious  and  potent 
that  it  seems  almost  impossible  the  idea  will  not  be 
adopted.  The  cutting  of  Culebra  mountain  was  the 
greatest  feat  accomplished  in  the  stupendous  canal 
undertaking.  By  many  competent  engineers  the  ob- 
ject sought  was  considered  impossible  of  fulfillment. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Gaillard  accomplished  the  task 
successfully.    But  the  task  killed  him. 

Literally,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gaillard  gave  up  his 
life  for  the  success  of  the  Culebra  Cut  and  for  the 
Panama  Canal.  Just  as  truly  he  gave  up  his  life  for 
his  country.  The  people  of  the  United  States  owe  it 
to  themselves  to  afford  him  a  monument  which  will 
stand  for  all  time  an  impressive   object   lesson   of 

112 


American  devotion  and  achievement.  And  what  no- 
bler, more  enduring  or  more  fitting  monument  could 
be  selected  to  bear  his  name  than  the  great  cleft 
with  which  he  split  a  continent? 

(The  Record,  Columbia,  S.  C,  Dec.  6,  1913) 
AN  EPIC  AND  ITS  HERO 

It  looks  like  the  irony  of  fate  that  Col.  David  Du- 
Bose  Graillard,  conqueror  of  Culebra  Cut,  should  die 
at  the  moment  of  the  culmination  and  triumph  of  his 
great  achievement,  but  to  the  creative  genius  the 
joy  in  his  work  is  the  chief  est,  most  prized  reward. 
The  trump  of  fame  and  the  acclaim  of  millions  fall- 
ing on  his  ears  could  really  have  added  little  to  the 
pleasure  and  satisfaction  of  Colonel  Gaillard  on  the 
completion  of  his  great  task.  The  immortal  part  of 
him,  the  spirit  that  was  put  into  his  work  and  the 
everlasting  memorial  it  will  bear  of  his  personality 
and  fame  to  all  future  times  can  never  die. 

Colonel  Gaillard  ^s  friends  and  kindred  will  mourn 
without  comfort  or  avail  that  he  should  have  been 
snatched  from  them  by  the  inexorable  conqueror  of 
all  at  such  a  moment,  but,  viewed  from  the  stand- 
point of  eternity,  is  it  not  most  fitting  that  the  crown 
of  immortality,  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  should 
have  been  thus  placed  on  the  brow  of  one  to  whom 
life  could  add  no  greater  goal  of  success. 

Pathetic,  as  it  may  be,  there  seems  to  be  an  artistic 
fitness  that  all  the  poets  and  creative  masters  have 
recognized  and  emphasized  that  the  Tragic  muse 
alone  is  worthy  to  crown  and  conclude  a  great  epic 
and  its  heroes. 


118 


(Davenport,  Iowa,  Times,  Dec.  9,  1913) 

Against  the  treachery  of  nature  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Gaillard  pitted  his  splendid  ability,  abund- 
ant vitality  and  unswerving  loyalty.  It  was  a  tre- 
mendous fight,  but  he  carried  the  Culebra  Cut 
through  to  completion.  By  engineers  he  will  be  re- 
membered as  the  man  who  dug  the  Culebra  Cut.  By 
the  army  his  memory  will  be  treasured  as  that  of 
an  officer  and  a  gentleman  who  embodied  the  effi- 
ciency and  devotion  to  duty  of  the  service. 

Man  changes  the  face  of  nature  even  to  the  extent 
of  sundering  continents  and  uniting  the  oceans.  But 
he  pays  the  price.  Lieut.-Col.  David  DuBose  Gail- 
lard dug  the  Culebra  Cut  and  paid  for  this  achieve- 
ment with  his  life. 

(Frankfort,  Ky.,  Journal,  Dec.  10,  1913) 
"GAILLARD   OF  CULEBRA" 

Lieut-Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard,  who  died  of 
nervous  and  mental  collapse  at  Johns  Hopkins  Uni- 
versity as  a  result  of  the  terrific  strain  of  seven  years 
of  successful  work  upon  the  Culebra  Cut  of  the 
Panama  Canal,  crowned  his  life  work  with  the  sac- 
rifice of  his  life. 

When  Ismail  Pasha  set  out  to  build  the  Suez  Canal 
by  having  thousands  of  Egyptian  laborers  dig  in  the 
ditch  and  live  in  unsanitary  camps,  the  lives  of 
countless  unpaid  men  were  sacrificed.  When  the 
French  tried  to  dig  the  Panama  Canal,  the  same 
thing  occurred.  The  United  States  made  the  canal 
zone  sanitary  and  the  mortality  rate  among  laborers 
was  low.  But  the  tremendousness  of  the  engineering 
project  put  men  like    Lieutenant-Colonel    Gaillard 

114 


upon  their  mettle  and  they  worked  unceasingly  and 
without  regard  to  the  results  to  their  health. 

^'Gaillard  of  Culebra*'  is  one  of  the  nation's 
heroes.  A  Gaillard  statute  might  suitably  be  set 
up  at  Culebra  Cut,  like  that  of  the  French  engineer 
de  Lesseps,  which  commands  the  entrance  to  the 
Suez. 

(Hingham,  Mass.,  Journal,  Dec.  12,  1913) 

It  must  always  remain  a  source  of  the  deepest  re- 
gret to  his  grateful  fellow-citizens  that  one  of  the 
three  master  minds  of  the  Panama  Canal  should  not 
have  lived  to  see  the  completion  of  the  great  work 
with  which  his  name  will  be  forever  linked.  The 
death  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gaillard  is  one  of  the 
few  tragedies  connected  with  that  tremendous  under- 
taking in  whose  successful  conclusion  he  played  so 
conspicuous  a  part,  and  his  appreciative  countrymen 
will  not  forget  to  keep  his  memory  green  nor  fail  to 
see  that  the  full  measure  of  that  fame  which  is  his 
due  shall  be  accorded  to  him,  says  the  Boston  Tran- 
script. Posterity  will  crown  with  laurel  leaves  his 
brow  and  history  will  generously  record  the  value 
of  his  services.  It  may  be  said  of  this  modest,  unas- 
suming and  efficient  officer  who  has  added  such 
lustre  to  the  United  States  army  that  he  cheerfully 
laid  his  life  upon  the  altar  of  his  country  no  less 
than  if  he  had  sacrificed  it  for  the  flag  upon  the  bat- 
tlefield. Seven  years  of  faithful  application  to  his 
duty  in  the  tropics,  years  during  which  he  solved 
one  after  another  the  engineering  problems  which 
arose  at  baffling  Culebra,  proved  too  much  for  his 
strength  and  health,  and  so  he  could  not  live  to  see 

115 


the  opening  of  the  great  waterway  which  he  had 
helped  to  carve  from  the  living  hills.  That  eight- 
mile  cut  through  the  continental  divide,  its  sliding 
sides  chained  by  his  genius,  will  remain  a  nobler 
monument  to  his  memory  than  the  one  which  Con- 
gress, no  doubt,  some  day  will  erect  upon  the 
Isthmus. 

(Los  Angelea  Tribune,  Dec.  12,  1913) 
THE  LATE  LIEUTENANT-COLONEL  GAILLARD 

Through  the  rocky  heart  of  the  Isthmus  stern  the 

soldier  had  carved  a  way. 
Then,  with  triumph  near  and  reward  at  hand,  came 

summons  he  must  obey. 
For  years  his  duty — he  never  shirked — was  to  toil 

'neath  the  tropic  sun. 
And  he  answered  the  call — death's  signal  note — nor 

knew  of  the  laurels  won. 
Ships  pushed  their  prows  on  the  silver  path  he  had 

cut  through  barren  stone. 
As  he  set  out  on  the  longer  voyage  that  each  man 

must  go  alone; 
But  flowers  heaped  high  by  loving  hands  were  as 

visible  forms  of  prayer 

That  the  brave  rest  well,  and  his  voyage  end  in  a 
haven  august  and  fair. 

(Meridian,  Miss.,  Star,  Dec.  12,  1913) 
DAVID  DuBOSE  GAILLARD 

David  DuBose  Gaillard,  the  man  under  whose  per- 
sonal direction  the  Culebra  Cut,  on  the  Panama 
Canal  was  made,  who  passed  away  in  a  Baltimore 
hospital,  last  week,  after  months  of  illness,  deserves 
a  memorial  as  much,  or  more,  than  many  to  whose 

116 


memory  great  piles  of  granite  have  been  erected  in 
this  and  other  lands. 

Mr.  Gaillard's  untimely  death  was  due  to  an 
earnest  devotion  to  duty.  He  had  lived  and  had 
labored,  labored  incessantly,  in  a  tropical  country 
where  such  labor  as  Gaillard  performed  is  calculated 
to  debilitate  the  strongest  men.  But  Gaillard  had 
a  duty  to  perform  and  he  performed  it,  performed 
it  at  the  cost  of  his  life.  He  staked  his  great  abilities 
against  a  mountain  and  won,  but  he  couldn^t  live  to 
glory  in  his  work. 

Wouldn  't  it  be  a  fine  monument  to  such  a  man  to 
erect,  equip  and  operate  a  great  engineering  school 
under  his  name — a  Gaillard  School  of  Engineering? 
We  hope  something  of  this  sort  will  be  done  by  the 
national  government. 

(Muscatine,  Iowa,  Journal,  Dec.  6,  1913) 

American  army  officers  have  proven  their  mettle 
in  every  war  and  skirmish  in  which  troops  of  this 
nation  have  been  engaged.  In  later  years  they  have 
been  proving  their  efficiency  and  courage  in  peace  as 
well  as  war. 

No  soldier  more  truly  or  more  nobly  gave  his  life 
in  the  service  of  his  country.  His  mission  was  not 
to  decrease  the  population  of  the  world,  but  to  so 
remake  the  topography  of  the  world  that  its  popula- 
tion might  be  more  evenly  distributed. 

As  the  natural  barriers  that  once  kept  communi- 
ties and  nations  isolated  from  one  another  are  over- 
come or  brushed  aside,  there  comes  a  more  complete 
understanding  between  section  and  section,  nation 
and  nation,  continent  and  continent.     With  every 

117 


forward  step  in  understanding  there  comes  an  equal 
diminution  of  the  causes  of  strife  and  hatred. 

In  this  drawing  together  of  a  world  no  one  achieve- 
ment serves  to  rank  with  the  building  of  the  canal. 
History  will  deal  gratefully  with  every  great  leader 
who  contributed  much  to  this  achievement  and  high 
among  these  leaders  will  stand  the  name  of  the 
American  soldier-engineer,  who  conquered  Culebra 
at  the  cost  of  his  own  life. 

(New  Orleans,  La.,  Times-Democrat,  Dec.  6,  1913) 

Culebra  has  figured  so  often  in  the  newspapers  that 
the  public  is  more  familiar  with  it  than  with  any 
other  section  of  the  canal.  The  great  cut  posed 
many  a  wearisome  problem  to  the  canal  builders 
and  tested  their  mettle  to  the  utmost.  Five  years 
of  almost  continuous  supervision  of  the  work  there 
placed  a  heavy  strain  upon  Colonel  Gaillard.  He 
bore  the  burden  patiently  and  uncomplainingly,  and 
led  his  forces  to  a  notable  engineering  victory. 

In  tardy  recognition  of  his  service  and  sacrifice  a 
bill  was  introduced  in  Congress  last  month  promot- 
ing him  to  the  rank  of  Colonel.  But  it  was  decreed 
that  he  should  not  live  to  witness  the  consumma- 
tion of  his  work  upon  the  isthmus  nor  to  enjoy  the 
rewards  so  richly  deserved.  Colonel  Gaillard 's  fate 
was  peculiarly  pathetic.  He  gave  his  life  to  his 
country's  service  as  truly  as  though  he  had  fallen 
in  battle.  He  gave  the  best  that  was  in  him  without 
counting  the  personal  cost.  Coming  home,  phys- 
ically broken  and  doomed,  he  had  the  satisfaction 
of  knowing  that  the  important  duty  assigned  to  him 
had  been  successfully  performed,  and    that,    to    a 

118 


soldier  of  his  ideals  and  noble  traditions,  was  ample 
recompense. 

(New  York  8un,  Dec.  6,  1913) 
DAVID  DuBOSE  GAILLARD 

It  is  known  by  all  his  associates  that  Col.  David 
DuBose  Gaillard,  U.  S.  A.,  who  died  in  Baltimore 
yesterday,  succumbed  to  the  strain  of  his  inde- 
fatigable labors  as  engineer  in  charge  of  the  Culebra 
Cut.  The  work  of  excavation,  in  which  he  never 
spared  himself,  killed  him  at  the  age  of  54,  when 
he  had  ten  years  to  serve  in  the  army  with  the  pros- 
pect of  attaining  the  highest  honors  in  his  profes- 
sion. 

In  the  Engineer  Corps  there  was  no  more  brilliant 
officer,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Colonel 
Goethals,  and  certainly  none  more  self-sacrificing  in 
the  discharge  of  duty.  He  lived  to  complete  his 
great  work,  and  what  an  undertaking  it  was  when 
he  had  to  do  almost  daily  battle  with  landslides, 
trenching  against  the  enemy  and  laboriously  turning 
its  flank! 

Colonel  Gaillard  never  won  the  fame  of  his  as- 
sociates, Goethals  and  Gorgas,  but  his  merits  were 
scarcely  less  and  his  exertions  and  devotion  fully  as 
great. 

(New  York  Herald,  Dec.  14,  1913) 

Men  who  seek  to  set  down  the  names  of  the  heroes 
of  Panama,  who  have  given  their  all  to  help  make 
the  canal  a  monument  to  American  skill  ajid  energy 
for  all  the  world  to  see,  will  place  high  up  on  the 
list  the  name  of  Lieut.-Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard, 

119 


who  ** broke  the  back  of  a  continent/'  as  one  who 
observed  his  colossal  task  at  Panama  declared. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Gaillard  persisted  in  his  work  in 
spite  of  failing  health  and  gave  up  his  life  on  the 
altar  of  patriotism  no  less  than  does  the  leader  of  a 
little  band  of  fighting  men  who  carries  his  troops 
across  a  battlefield  straight  in  the  face  of  the  enemy 
and  against  overwhelming  odds. 

(New  York  Tribune,  Dec.  6,  1913) 
"DEAD  ON  THE  FIELD  OF  HONOR" 

A  tribute  is  due  to  David  DuBose  Gaillard,  who 
yesterday  died  in  his  very  hour  of  triumph.  Two 
or  three  other  names  were  more  widely  known  than 
his  in  connection  with  our  great  work  at  the  isthmus, 
but  none  was  entitled  to  more  honor  for  integrity,  de- 
votion and  high  achievement.  It  was  his  lot  to 
grapple  with  the  crux  of  the  whole  engineering  task, 
the  Culebra  Cut.  It  was  the  pitting  of  a  man  against 
a  mountain,  and  the  man  won.  He  cleared  the  cut 
from  end  to  end;  and  though  since  his  incapacitation 
the  treacherous  slopes  have  sought  to  undo  his  work, 
he  has  left  to  his  successors  the  secret  of  full 
triumph.  The  mighty  gap  in  the  Cordillera  de 
Bando  will  be  his  monument. 

The  world  honors  great  conquerors.  It  honors 
even  those  who  conquer  fellow  men  in  contest  for 
selfish  supremacy.  Much  more  should  it  honor  the 
men  who  conquer  hostile  or  obstructive  forces  of 
nature  for  the  welfare  of  mankind.  The  man  who 
smote  asunder  a  mountain  chain  to  make  a  highway 
for  the  commerce  of  the  nations  and  perished  as  he 
won  the  victory  is  as  truly  as  any  bloodstained  war- 
rior ^ '  dead  on  the  field  of  honor. ' ' 

120 


(New  York  World,  Dec.  6,  1913) 

While  the  news  of  the  successful  flooding  of  the 
waterway  and  the  passage  of  the  first  boats  through 
the  high-level  locks  was  being  greeted  with  applause 
by  millions  of  his  countrymen,  the  army  engineer 
who  had  pierced  the  backbone  of  the  continent  and 
whose  name  deserves  to  be  linked  with  those  of 
Goethals  and  Gorgas  as  the  Conquerors  of  the  Isth- 
mus, was  fated  to  lie  in  a  state  of  unconsciousness 
in  a  hospital  bed. 

No  soldier  ever  gave  up  his  life  to  duty  on  the 
field  of  battle  more  truly  than  did  Gaillard,  the 
modest,  tireless,  efficient  engineer. 

(New  York  Journal,  Dec.  7,  1913) 
A  HERO  OF  OUR  TIME 

A  brain  trouble  caused  by  overwork  in  a  tropical 
climate  caused  the  death  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Gaillard,  who  was  directly  in  charge  of  the  excava- 
tion for  the  Panama  Canal  cuts.  Gaillard  was  a 
direct  victim  of  his  tireless,  modest  zeal  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  canal.  A  worthy  lieutenant  of 
Goethals,  he  was  absolutely  trusted  in  every  detail 
that  was  ever  put  into  his  hands. 

He  was  the  type  of  man  who  puts  genius  into  the 
turn  of  a  shovel.  He  was  also  of  the  type  of  the 
heroic  American  soldier  who,  without  arrogance, 
without  pretense,  and  often  without  rest  or  recre- 
ation, toils  all  his  life  long  for  the  honor  of  his  coun- 
try, and  not  at  all  for  wealth. 

No  death  in  battle,  no  impetuous  leadership  of  a 
whirling  charge,  could  be  braver  or  more  honorable 
than  this  patient,  modest  South  Carolinian's  end. 

121 


His  record  of  brilliant  service,  calmly  rendered  over 
his  plan  or  at  the  excavation's  side,  is  worthy  to 
stand  with  the  story  of  Warren,  of  Shaw,  of  Eeynolds 
or  of  Lawton. 

His  work  will  endure ;  dead  he  will  have  the  fame 
that  never  came  to  him  alive,  and  that  he  never 
sought  save  by  patient  and  self -forgetting  diligence 
in  his  duty. 

(Philadelphia  Bulletin,  Dec,  1913) 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Gaillard  was  described  as  one 
of  the  most  wonderful  organizers  the  United  States 
Army  ever  developed.  He  was  bom  at  Winnsboro, 
S.  C,  in  1859,  descendant  of  an  old  Huguenot  family. 
He  was  graduated  from  West  Point  Military 
Academy  in  1884  and  since  that  time  had  won  many 
honors  in  the  engineering  service.  A  bill  was  intro- 
duced in  Congress  last  month  promoting  him  to  the 
rank  of  Colonel  in  recognition  of  his  distinguished 
services,  which  culminated  in  the  great  engineering 
feat  in  the  Culebra  section  of  the  Panama  Canal. 
While  Culebra  Cut  was  flooded  by  the  blasting  of 
Gamboa  Dike  on  October  10th  last,  Colonel  Gaillard 
lay  unconscious  in  his  bed  at  the  hospital. 

When  Gaillard  reached  the  Canal  Zone  and  looked 
over  the  scene  of  his  coming  labors,  he  found  that 
the  French  had  completed  thirty  per  cent  of  the  dig- 
ging at  Culebra  necessary  for  a  canal  200  feet  in 
width.  This  left  for  the  American  engineer  seventy 
per  cent  of  the  labor  necessary  for  a  200-foot  channel, 
and  all  the  additional  work  necessary  for  the  300- 
foot  channel  which  the  Americans  had  decided  to 
construct. 

The  Culebra  Cut  runs  through  the  backbone  of  the 

122 


American  continent.  It  is  eight  miles  long,  and  it 
was  the  only  place  on  the  Isthmus  which  presented 
a  continuous  problem  of  dry  digging.  The  work 
up  to  October  10th  last  was  entirely  steam-shovel 
work. 

The  army  officer  dug  the  Culebra  Cut  *  *  to  the  bot- 
tom," but  at  Gucaracha  and  in  its  immediate 
vicinity  the  earth  and  the  rocks  of  the  mountains, 
finding  a  part  of  their  foundation  removed,  began 
to  move  toward  and  into  the  excavation.  The  engi- 
neer dug  indomitably;  hill  after  hill  found  its  angle 
of  repose,  save  at  Gucaracha  and  at  points  close  to 
it,  where  the  sliding  was  persistent. 

The  entire  work  of  dry  digging  in  the  Gulebra 
Cut  was  completed  when  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gaillard 
was  stricken  and  compelled  to  leave  the  Zone. 

When  Gaillard  started  his  Isthmian  work  he  knew 
that  he  must  overcome  the  landslides  which  were 
certain  to  start  when  the  mountains  through  which 
he  was  to  make  his  way  showed  their  footholds  were 
becoming  insecure.  He  made  his  way  fighting. 
Literally,  he  was  obliged  to  shackle  the  feet  of  the 
great  hills.  He  did  it,  and  engineers  say  that  his 
work  is  for  all  time. 

While  the  work  which  confronted  Gaillard  at 
Culebra  Cut  was  not  perhaps  the  greatest  individual 
piece  of  engineering  on  the  isthmus,  it  generally  was 
regarded  as  the  most  trying  and  probably  the  most 
difficult  because  of  the  problems  which  were  pre- 
sented. Gaillard,  during  the  early  years  of  his  con- 
test with  the  landslides,  never  knew  what  a  morning 
was  to  bring  forth.  Over  night  the  mountains  were 
likely  to  break  loose  and  to  cover  with  their  de- 
posit the  tracks  and  even  the  cars  which  were  used 

123 


to  remove  deposited  material.  Steam  shovels  were 
likely  to  be  overturned,  and  there  was  always  the 
danger  in  the  rainy  season  that  the  slides  would 
form  dams,  cut  oif  the  drainage  of  the  cut  and  flood 
the  scene  of  the  working. 

For  the  greater  period  of  his  work  on  the  isthmus, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Gaillard  was  without  a  chief  as- 
sistant whose  duty  it  would  have  been  to  look  after 
the  details.  The  army  officer  wanted  to  save  money, 
if  possible.  He  gave  his  attention  not  only  to  the 
greater  engineering  problems  which  confronted 
him,  but  to  all  the  details  of  shovel  work,  train 
work,  and  drainage.  He  checked  up  on  the  small 
things,  and  it  is  said  that  the  saving  which  he  ac- 
complished by  his  individual  and  careful  oversight 
amounted  to  $17,000,000. 

Men  on  the  isthmus  say  that  Gaillard,  as  a  rule, 
gave  twelve  hours  of  each  day  to  the  work  in  Culebra 
Cut.  As  a  member  of  the  Canal  Commission  he  had 
a  voice  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  engineering 
work  in  the  Zone,  to  civil  administration  and  in  the 
general  conduct  of  affairs.  It  has  been  said  of  him 
that  he  did  not  know  how  to  rest. 

(Portland,  Ore.,  Journal,  Dec.  11,  1913) 

To  his  memory  there  can  be  paid  the  tribute  due 
those  who  serve  their  country  well. 

Culebra  Cut  will  be  his  monument.  Several  moun- 
tains will  commemorate  his  fidelity  to  duty. 

(The  Springfield,  Mass.,  Daily^  Republican,  Dec.  6,  1913) 

Colonel  Gaillard 's  death  is  so  clearly  the  result 
of  his  unremitting  toil  at  the  Isthmus  that  one  is 

124 


disposed  to  rank  him  very  high  among  ^Hhe  heroes 
of  peace.''  His  monument  for  all  time  will  be  that 
tremendous  excavation  through  the  mountain  back- 
bone of  the  isthmus. 

(St.  Louis  aiohe-Democrat,  Dec.  6,  1913) 

The  death  of  Lieut.-Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard 
in  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital  will  cause  sorrow 
throughout  the  country,  although  it  was  not  unex- 
pected. Ever  since  he  was  driven  away  from  his 
work  on  the  Panama  Canal  by  Secretary  Garrison 
of  the  War  Department,  owing  to  his  physical  and 
mental  condition,  there  has  been  little  expectation 
of  the  recovery  of  his  powers,  giant*  that  he  was.  He 
became  a  nervous  wreck  while  battling  with  the 
slides  in  the  Culebra  Cut,  disasters  that  for  a  time 
threatened  the  success  of  the  greatest  engineering 
enterprise  of  modern  times,  if  not  of  all  history. 

According  to  the  statement  of  his  grief-stricken 
wife,  he  worked  night  and  day  on  plans  for  over- 
coming the  slides.  Plan  after  plan  he  devised  and 
tried  in  vain.  He  worked  into  the  small  hours  on 
new  plans  and  arose  while  it  was  yet  night  to  per- 
sonally superintend  their  application.  The  loss  of 
sleep  and  the  incessant  worry  showed  their  effect 
and  his  friends  futilely  tried  to  induce  him  to  take 
a  rest.  He  stubbornly  persevered  until  he  mastered 
the  problem  and  left  only  after  peremptory  orders 
were  given  by  the  secretary  of  war.  While  the  coun- 
try was  celebrating  the  final  blast  in  the  great  work 
the  hero  who  had  for  seven  years  poured  out  his 

♦Though  possessed  of  marvelous  energy  and  vitality,  he  was 
slender  in  build.  Sibert  was  "the  giant"  of  the  twain.  See  pp. 
13-14. 

125 


life  for  its  success  lay  unconscious  in  the  hospital. 
He  did  not  know  of  the  praise  lavished  upon  him. 
He  was  not  aware  that  a  bill  had  been  introduced 
in  Congress  to  make  him  a  colonel  as  a  tribute  to 
his  efficiency  and  loyalty. 

(St.  Louis  Republic,  Aug.  18,  1913) 
AT    GAILLARD'S    BEDSIDE 

Lieut.-Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard  has  returned 
from  Panama  broken  in  health.  It  will  be  months, 
physicians  say,  before  he  will  be  able  to  resume  his 
duties.  For  seven  years  he  has  been  in  charge  of 
the  central  division  of  the  canal  work,  the  division 
that  includes  the  Culebra  Cut.  Everybody  knows 
about  Culebra  Cut,  but  comparatively  few  know 
about  Gaillard.  And  while  at  first  glance  that 
may  not  seem  quite  fair,  we  guess,  after  all,  it  is 
as  it  should  be.  Certainly  the  spirit  of  self-efface- 
ment that  has  characterized  the  men  who  have 
directed  the  digging  of  the  canal  is  one  of  the  fine 
things  about  that  great  work.  Into  that  work  they 
have  poured  their  lives  with  a  valor  and  loyalty  and 
fidelity  that  would  add  luster  to  the  annals  of  any 
age.  ^^  Peace  hath  her  victories  no  less  renowned 
than  war,'^  and,  therefore,  it  has  its  battles  which 
call  for  the  same  stem,  steadfast  qualities  that  win 
immortality  on  the  field  of  blood.  The  shattered 
Gaillard  has  filed  an  account  against  posterity,  but 
we  of  his  own  day  would  be  delinquent  if  we  did 
not  pause  at  the  bedside  of  this  officer  and  gentle- 
man and  splendid  American  to  wish  him  a  speedy 
recovery. 


126 


(St.  Louis  Republic,  Dec.  6,  1913) 
THE    SLEEPER    AT    ARLINGTON 

Gaillard  sleeps  at  Arlington,  and  for  a  moment 
there  is  a  pause  in  the  acclaim  of  the  success  at 
Panama.  For  a  moment  *  *  the  tumult  and  the  shout- 
ing dies,  ^ '  and  it  is  given  us  to  think,  not  about  the 
Isthmian  miracle,  but  of  the  labor  of  the  men  who 
wrought  it. 

Gaillard  was  chosen  to  dig  the  Gulebra  Cut.  He 
had  prepared  himself  for  this  supreme  task  by  a 
life  of  study.  Throughout  his  career  this  officer  and 
gentleman  had  been  an  indefatigable  worker.  In 
various  parts  of  the  country  there  are  lasting  me- 
morials to  the  service  he  has  rendered  his  Govern- 
ment. Even  before  Panama  his  name,  in  military 
circles,  had  become  a  sort  of  tradition.  He  was  the 
man  for  the  job  that  could  not  be  done  but  had  to  be 
done.    And  so  he  came  to  the  Isthmus. 

Since  his  death  we  have  had  glimpses  of  days 
under  an  equatorial  sun  followed  by  nights  over  blue 
prints.  The  long  rations  of  toil  and  the  short  rations 
of  rest  finally  saw  the  slides  of  Culebra  brought  to 
check.  They  also  saw  the  end  of  Gaillard.  The 
faithful  brain  and  sturdy  body  broke  under  the  re- 
morseless drive — but  not  until  the  impossible  had 
been  accomplished,  not  until  the  Gaillard  tradition 
was  a  thing  for  admiration  and  reverence. 

This  son  of  South  Carolina  who  sleeps  at  Arling- 
ton lives  in  history,  one  of  that  gallant  company 
best  fitted  to  survive. 


127 


(St.  Louis  Republic,  Dec.  14,  1913) 

Brig.-Gen.  E.  J.  Spencer,  John  A.  Laird,  and  other 
officers  of  the  Third  Regiment,  Volunteer  Engineers, 
which  Lieut.-Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard  mustered 
here  at  Jefferson  Barracks  during  the  Spanish  War, 
are  preparing  to  prosecute  a  movement  to  erect  a 
monument  to  the  ^'wizard  of  Culebra  Cuf  some- 
where along  that  giant  masterpiece  of  engineering 
achievement. 

The  idea  was  broached  recently  in  an  editorial  in 
The  Republic  which  called  attention  to  the  ap- 
propriateness of  such  a  testimonial  by  the  American 
people  to  the  canal  builder  on  the  site  of  his  greatest 
work. 

Colonel  Gaillard  probably  nowhere  is  remembered 
more  intimately  or  affectionately  than  in  St.  Louis, 
which  saw  his  entry  into  the  really  big  period  of  his 
life  when,  in  July,  1898,  he  came  to  St.  Louis  as  a 
Captain  in  the  regular  Army  of  the  United  States  to 
recruit  and  command  a  regiment  of  engineers  for 
service  in  Cuba,  or  wherever  necessary.  He  was 
known  in  St.  Louis  and  to  prominent  St.  Louisans 
as  a  great  man  long  before  his  master  work  at  the 
canal  had  demonstrated  to  the  world  his  unequaled 
ability  and  efficiency. 

As  his  greater  triumphs  were  to  come  in  times  of 
peace,  so  did  Colonel  Gaillard 's  earlier  successes 
elicit  attention  and  commendation  as  those  of  a  con- 
structive, rather  than  a  destructive,  agency.  His 
engineers  were  ordered  to  Cuba  after  the  fighting 
was  over  and  he  and  his  engineers,  men  of  high 
standing  in  their  own  country  and  of  exceptional 
ability,  landed  in  a  territory  devastated  by  roving 

128 


bands  of  insurgents,  of  depredating  Spanish  troops 
and  of  pioneering  American  forces. 

His  was  the  duty  to  repair,  reconstruct  and  con- 
struct out  of  this  wreck  of  war  a  groundwork  for  the 
newer  life  that  was  to  follow  in  the  wake  of  oppres- 
sion and  ruin. 

When  Colonel  Gaillard^s  engineers  reached  Cien- 
fuegos  the  death  rate  was  138  a  week.  When  they 
left  it,  six  weeks  later  with  its  sanitation  system 
completed,  the  week^s  mortality  had  dwindled  to 
twenty-nine.  The  city  had  been  thoroughly  sur- 
veyed, water  supply  investigated,  artesian  wells 
bored,  natural  water  falls  studied  as  water  supply, 
800  miles  of  roads  reconnoitered  and  mapped,  com- 
plete military  reconnoissance  map  of  Cienfuegos  and 
vicinity  completed,  complete  reports  on  conditions 
and  capabilities  of  railroads  of  the  province,  reports 
in  improvements  of  different  barracks  in  province 
with  estimates,  supervision  of  repairs,  warehouse 
construction,  bridge  repairs,  wharf  and  dock  repairs, 
and  a  hydrographic  survey  of  Cienfuegos  Harbor 
with  2,600  soundings. 

^'We  knew  him  for  a  great  man  long  before  the 
rest  of  the  world  came  to  recognize  him  to  be  such, ' ' 
said  one  of  these  who  served  as  a  lieutenant  under 
him.  **We  saw  in  his  wonderful  faculty  of  com- 
mand over  men,  his  ability  to  whip  the  rawest  kind 
of  a  recruit  into  a  disciplined,  efficient  soldier  and 
his  remarkable  genius  for  constructive  engineering 
work  and  scope  of  application  the  manifestations  of 
a  master  mind  and  we  confidently  looked  forward 
to  the  day  when  he  would  meet  some  task  too  big 
for  the  other  fellow  to  do — and  do  it. 

*^I  visited  Culebra  Cut  with  him,    and    when    I 

129 


looked  at  that  amazing  and  awe-inspiring  achieve- 
ment of  this  quiet  and  determined  man  I  knew  that 
the  qualities  we  all  knew  so  well  he  possessed  at  last 
had  found  a  field  worthy  of  them. 

^^He  worked  and  thought  always  of  the  canal  and 
the  cut  with  its  treacherous  slides  that  were  enough 
almost  to  wring  surrender  from  any  heart  less 
stanch  than  his  own,  but  he  never  gave  up  and  his 
work  triumphed  in  the  end/^ 

(St.  Louis  Republic,  Dec.  15,  1914) 
A  MONUMENT  AT  CULEBRA 

The  Repuhlic/s  suggestion  that  a  monument  be 
erected  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gaillard  on  the  site 
of  Culebra  Cut  has  met  with  response  from  many  St. 
Louisans  who,  as  members  of  the  Third  Kegiment, 
Volunteer  Engineers,  in  the  Spanish-American  War, 
were  under  the  command  of  the  then  Captain  Gail- 
lard. That  was  an  exceptional  regiment  which  was 
mustered  in  at  Jefferson  Barracks,  both  as  to  officers 
and  as  to  men.  But  it  was  especially  exceptional 
as  regards  its  commanding  officer,  David  DuBose 
Gaillard.  His  genuis  for  leadership  and  tireless  pas- 
sion for  perfection  in  every  detail  making  for  regi- 
mental efficiency  impressed  officers  and  men  alike. 
While  yet  Culebra  Cut  was  a  pestilential  tropic 
growth  and  the  Canal  was  a  matter  of  discussion  at 
Washington  and  Bogota,  those  men  who  knew  Gail- 
lard knew  that  here  was  real  greatness  awaiting  only 
an  opportunity. 

They  believed  in  him  supremely.  They  saw  him 
make  finished  soldiers  of  untrained  men.  They  saw 
a  volunteer  camp,  under  his  exacting  patience,  attain 

130 


to  regular  army  standards  of  sanitation,  routine  and 
discipline.  They  saw  him  later  drive  filth  and  death 
and  disorder  out  of  Santa  Clara  Province.  Some 
years  afterwards  they  saw  him  at  the  head  of  an 
engineering  corps  on  the  Mississippi  Eiver,  still  the 
same  calm,  achieving  force,  doing,  as  always,  the 
things  to  be  done. 

Finally,  the  chance  for  the  great  thing  came — the 
canal  impossibility,  the  unconquerable  Culebra  Cut. 
That  is  history  now,  and  there  is  another  grave  at 
Arlington.  But  to  the  men  of  the  Third  who  knew 
Gaillard  it  is  prophecy  fulfilled  and  faith  vindi- 
cated. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  why  they  want  to  see  a 
monument  at  Culebra  Cut  and  why  they  want  to  take 
a  part  in  the  building  of  it.  For  those  men  '^the 
man  is  dead,  but  Gaillard  is  not  dead.*' 

(Washington  Times,  Dec.  6,  1913) 

Culebra  Cut  is  a  reality,  probably  for  centuries, 
at  least,  but  the  man  who  made  it  such  is  no  more. 

We  have  been  making  sacrifices  in  Panama  in  life 
as  well  as  treasure,  even  if  what  we  have  given  up 
as  the  price  of  that  vast  undertaking  is  far  less  than 
the  appalling  losses  of  the  French.  And  the  most 
conspicuous  sacrifice  yet  yielded  is  Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Gaillard. 

Men  marveled  that  Gaillard  could  seem  to  set  the 
laws  of  nature  at  naught  in  his  concentration  on  the 
task  of  removing  the  tremendous  mass  of  earth  that 
filled  the  space  occupied  by  what  is  now  Culebra 
Cut.  He  worked  harder  in  a  climate  that  demanded 
a  lessening  of  strain  than  he  would  have  worked 

131 


normally  in  the  stimulating  atmosphere  of  the 
United  States.  He  showed  mercy  to  his  subordinates 
but  none  to  himself.    And  he  has  paid  the  price. 

(Washington  Times,  Dec.  19,  1913) 

The  name  of  Gaillard  possesses  a  charm  for  those 
who  watched  the  parting  of  a  strip  of  earth  that 
the  Panama  Canal  might  take  its  place  among  the 
wonders  of  the  world.  He  was  the  man  in  charge 
of  the  Culebra  Cut  section  of  this  great  project,  un- 
dertaken by  one  nation,  but  affecting  every  nation 
with  ships  upon  the  seas.  .  .  .  His  death  came 
while  the  echoes  of  this  accomplishment  echoed 
round  the  world,  and  when  the  gates  are  opened 
eventually  to  all  the  ships  that  care  to  enter,  his 
figure  will  be  missing  among  the  list  of  wonder 
workers  who  will  receive  the  plaudits  of  civilized 
mankind. 

(Wilmington,  Del.,  Journal,  Dec.  12,  1913) 

Lieut.-Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard,  United  States 
engineer,  met  death  as  a  result  of  storming  the 
ramparts  of  nature  and  disease  in  the  great  work  of 
building  the  Panama  Canal.  Knowing  the  danger, 
he  kept  his  face  turned  resolutely  toward  it,  fighting 
tirelessly  and  intelligently  until  stricken  down.  The 
canal  has  developed  many  heroes  and  the  name  of 
Colonel  Gaillard  will  be  placed  well  up  toward  the 
top  of  the  list. 


132 


CONTEMPORARY  VIEW  OF  COLONEL 
GAILLARD  UPON  HIS  APPOINT- 
MENT TO  THE  ISTHMIAN 
CANAL  CONMISSION 
IN  1907 


CONTEMPORAEY  VIEW  OF  COLONEL  GAIL- 

LAED  UPON  HIS  APPOINTMENT  TO  THE 

ISTHMIAN  CANAL  COMMISSION  IN  1907 

The  New  York  Times,  under  date  of  April  28,  1907,  in  an 
article  on  "The  Men  Who  Will  Build  the  Panama  Canal,"  gives 
the  following  sketch  of  Colonel  Gaillard: 

Major  David  DuBose  Gaillard,  the  second  engi- 
neer in  charge,  is  a  native  of  South  Carolina.  He  is 
the  youngest  looking  of  the  three.  But  Major  Gail- 
lard's  career  has  been  exceedingly  varied.  In  fact 
scarcely  any  officer  in  the  army  has  had  as  varied 
an  experience  or  has  been  intrusted  with  so  many 
important  Government  commissions  as  Major  Gail- 
lard. And  all  these  commissions  have  been  of  a 
peculiar  character.  He  graduated  at  West  Point  in 
1884,  when  he  received  his  commission,  but  not  once 
since  that  time  has  he  been  with  a  regiment  or  a 
battalion  except  during  the  Spanish  War,  when  he 
was  Colonel  of  an  engineer  regiment. 

Major  Gaillard  is  a  rather  slim  man,  and  though 
he  is  forty-eight  years  old,  or  will  be  in  Septem- 
ber, he  doesn't  look  to  be  over  thirty-five.  Like  the 
other  army  officers,  he  is  well  preserved,  though  he 
has  seen  stern  service.  He  has  been  very  nearly 
everywhere  that  an  army  officer  is  ever  sent,  either 
in  peace  or  in  war,  except  to  the  Philippine  Islands. 

His  career  has  been  a  more  picturesque  one,  per- 
haps, than  either  of  the  other  two  engineers.  He 
has  been  engaged  on  many  very  interesting  mis- 
sions.   He  had  been  out  of  West  Point  but  a  few 

135 


years,  having  been  a  teacher  in  the  Engineer  School 
of  Application  and  an  assistant  on  the  St.  John's 
Eiver  jetties  and  other  river  and  harbor  work  in 
Florida,  when  he  was  appointed  in  1891  by  the  Pres- 
ident one  of  the  three  Commissioners  to  make  the 
boundary  line  between  Mexico  and  the  United 
States  from  El  Paso,  Texas,  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Major  Gaillard,  then  Lieutenant  Gaillard,  had  many 
interesting  and  romantic  experiences  while  engaged 
in  this  work — riding  horseback  five  or  six  hundred 
miles  on  the  stretch,  camping  in  the  desert  with  one 
or  two  companions,  and  getting  on  familiar  terms 
with  jackrabbits,  coyotes,  and  Mexicans.  When  he 
completed  this  work  he  was  personally  compli- 
mented in  a  State  paper  by  the  Secretary  of  State. 
Then  he  was  ordered  on  duty  in  the  construction 
of  fortifications  and  a  sea  wall  at  Fort  Monroe. 

One  of  the  most  valuable  works  on  which  Major 
Gaillard  has  been  engaged  is  the  Washington  Aque- 
duct, though  his  connection  with  it  and  the  valuable 
work  which  he  did  are  appreciated  by  only  a  few, 
because,  as  said  above,  army  engineers  are  accus- 
tomed to  doing  things  without  press  agents  or  brass 
bands.  He  was  but  a  First  Lieutenant  when  he  was 
put  in  sole  charge  of  this  work,  and  it  was  he  who 
had  charge  of  constructing  the  Great  Falls  dam  and 
of  cleaning  out,  for  the  first  time  since  its  construc- 
tion, the  conduit. 

He  went  from  Washington  to  Alaska  upon  an  im- 
portant secret  work  of  the  Government,  the  exact 
nature  of  which  does  not  appear  in  the  army  orders, 
and  is  not  generally  known,  even  among  Major 
Gaillard 's  most  intimate  friends,  because  it  had 
some  relation  with  the  international  complications 

136 


between  this  countiy  and  England.  Nominally,  and 
as  the  order  reads,  he  was  sent  there  upon  work  on 
the  Portland  Channel.  After  the  completion  of  this 
work,  for  which  he  was  highly  complimented  by 
the  Secretary  of  War,  he  was  put  on  the  staff  of 
Gen.  Wade,  and  served  at  Tampa  and  at  Chicka- 
mauga.  During  the  war  with  Spain,  Major  Gaillard 
recruited  and  organized  the  Third  United  States 
Volunteer  Engineers  and  became  Colonel  of  that 
regiment,  remaining  so  until  the  regiment  was 
mustered  out  in  1899.  His  regiment  was  sent  to 
Cuba  just  at  the  close  of  the  war,  and  he  was  placed 
in  charge  of  the  Department  of  Santa  Clara,  Cuba. 

Among  the  most  important,  though  perhaps  less 
spectacular,  sanitary  works  done  in  Cuba  were  those 
done  under  the  direction  of  Major  Gaillard.  He 
took  charge  of  the  sanitary  work  in  Cienfuegos, 
Matanzas,  and  other  cities  of  Cuba.  The  work  which 
he  did  there  stands  as  a  monument  to  the  efficiency 
and  the  strength  of  the  man,  as  well  as  to  the  credit 
of  the  country.  Many  columns  have  been  written 
about  how  General  Leonard  Wood  cleaned  up 
Havana.  Very  little  has  been  said  about  how  Major 
Gaillard  cleaned  up  Cienfuegos  and  Matanzas.  Gen- 
eral Wood  was  Colonel  of  the  Rough  Riders,  which, 
as  the  world  knows,  had  a  very  efficient  corps  of 
press  agents.  The  Third  Engineers  had  no  press 
agent,  but  it  had  a  man  at  the  head  of  it,  and  this 
man  was  educated  and  trained  in  the  regular  army, 
and  was  not  accustomed  to  press  agents  or  the 
blowing  of  the  horn  to  announce  to  the  world  what 
he  had  done.  No  reflection  is  meant  upon  General 
Wood.  Perhaps  Major  Gaillard  should  have  had 
a  press  agent. 

137 


Some  very  important  as  well  as  dramatic  work 
was  done  by  the  Third  Regiment  under  Colonel  Gail- 
lard.  It  was  chosen  by  Gen.  James  H.  Wilson  to 
disarm  at  midnight  and  place  under  arrest  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Sixth  Virginia  Colored  Volunteer  In- 
fantry at  Macon,  Georgia,  in  1898.  The  negro 
troops  were  mutinous  and  on  the  rampage  gener- 
ally, and  proposed  to  shoot  up  the  town  of  Macon, 
somewhat  similar  in  manner  to  the  way  the  troops 
of  the  Twenty-Fifth  Infantry  shot  up  Brownsville. 
Colonel  Gaillard  took  his  regiment  out  at  midnight, 
surrounded  the  negro  regiment,  and  took  their  guns 
away  from  them,  put  the  whole  regiment  under 
arrest,  and  kept  it  there  for  thirty  days  without 
arms  of  any  description.  The  negro  regiment  was 
then  mustered  out  of  service.  Senator  Foraker  be- 
ing engaged  on  something  else  at  that  particular 
time  did  not  ring  the  fire  alarm,  and  very  little 
was  heard  about  it,  but  it  was  done,  and  Major 
Gaillard  was  the  man  who  did  it. 

After  his  volunteer  regiment  was  mustered  out 
Major  Gaillard  was  again  assigned  to  the  Washing- 
ton Aqueduct,  but  was  soon  appointed  Assistant 
Engineer  Commissioner  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 
He  was  placed  in  entire  charge  of  the  Water,  Sewer, 
and  Building  Departments.  In  1901  he  was  ordered 
to  Duluth  and  placed  in  charge  of  all  river  and 
harbor  improvements  on  Lake  Superior.  Here,  it 
is  worthy  of  mention,  he  completed  the  largest 
dredging  contract  ever  let  by  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, taking  out  over  twenty-one  million  cubic 
yards. 

Major  Gaillard  is  also  one  of  the  closest  students 
in  the  army,  and  one  of  the  most  scholarly.     For 

138 


years  he  devoted  his  attention  to  the  subject  of  wave 
action.  The  results  of  his  studies  were  a  few  years 
ago  published  by  the  Government  as  one  of  the  ^*  pro- 
fessional papers  of  the  Corps  of  Engineers*^  under 
the  title  of  **Wave  Action/'  This  work  attracted 
wide  attention.  Engineers  throughout  many  coun- 
tries of  the  world  have  written  letters  to  him  about 
it.  He  also  prepared  a  number  of  papers  for  various 
engineering  societies,  and  is  one  of  the  foremost  au- 
thorities on  certain  phases  of  engineering.  Before 
becoming  a  member  of  the  General  Staff  years  ago 
he  was  one  of  the  professors  in  the  War  College  at 
Washington.  Thus  this  engineer  has  had  all  sorts 
of  experiences.  In  every  one  of  his  many  commis- 
sions he  has  acquitted  himself  with  such  signal  abil- 
ity, given  such  eminent  satisfaction  to  the  authori- 
ties which  appointed  him,  that  he  is  known  as  a  man 
fitted  for  great  undertakings. 


139 


NEW  BOOK  BY  COLONEL  GAILLARD 

Lieut  Jos.  A.  Baer  (Sixth  Cavalry),  writing  in  Harper's 
Weekly  (issue  of  April  27,  1907,  vol.  51,  pp.  602-605),  entitled  his 
article:  "Uncle  Sam^ — Canal  Digger." 

Scientific  books  and  publications  too  numerous 
to  mention  have  been  written  by  members  of  the 
engineer  corps.  One  of  the  latest  is  by  Major  D.  D. 
Gaillard  on  Wave  Action  in  Relation  to  Engineering 
Structures.  Major  Gaillard  is  one  of  the  engineer 
officers  detailed  as  assistant  to  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Goethals  in  the  work  of  completing  the  Panama 
Canal.  The  treatise  is  on  an  entirely  new  field  and 
shows  the  originality  and  thoroughness  of  the 
author.  This  same  originality  he  displayed  in  his 
work  on  the  Duluth  Harbor  improvements.  In  the 
construction  of  his  breakwater  he  evolved  a  method 
of  moulding  his  concrete  blocks  in  place  under- 
water. A  folding  form  to  mould  a  block  of  required 
section  was  lowered  into  the  water  and  filled  with 
concrete.  When  this  had  set  the  form  was  opened, 
drawn  up,  and  moved  two  form-lengths  forward  and 
another  block  moulded.  The  space  between  these 
two  blocks  was  then  moulded  in  by  a  second  form 
and  a  continuous  concrete  wall  thus  built.  From 
Duluth  Major  Gaillard  went  to  Washington,  where 
he  served  on  the  General  Staff.     .     .     . 

Not  the  least  important  river  and  harbor  serv- 
ice that  the  Engineer  Corps  has  rendered  the  country 
is  the  work  of  the  Engineer  Board  in  killing  un 
worthy  improvement  appropriation  schemes.     This 
and  their  construction  work  are  necessarily  so  im- 

140 


portant  in  the  eyes  of  Congress  that  there  is  dan- 
ger that  the  true  weight  of  the  Panama  Canal  work 
may  be  lost  sight  of.  The  digging  of  the  canal  is 
a  project  that  has  baffled  engineers  for  four  cen- 
turies. It  is  the  greatest  administrative  problem 
of  the  age.  To  succeed,  the  office  of  the  chief  of 
engineers  must  be  free  to  concentrate  all  its  ener- 
gies upon  this  one  project — everything  else  is  sec- 
ondary. Until  the  canal  is  well  under  way,  let  the 
army  engineers  alone. 


141 


THE  FUNERAL 


THE  FUNERAL 

By  Stephen  M.  Foote,  Colonel  Coast  Artillary  Corps,  U.   S.  A. 
(Late  Major,  Third  U.  S.  Volunteer  Engineers) 

The  funeral  ceremonies  were  held  in  Washington, 
D.  C,  and  Arlington,  Va.,  on  December  8th,  1913,  a 
raw  and  gloomy  day.  The  body  was  brought  from 
Baltimore  on  that  date,  transferred  from  the  station 
to  the  church,  and  there  at  2:30  p.  m.  was  taken  in 
charge  by  the  military  escort. 

Although  best  known  to  the  world  as  a  civil  engi- 
neer, Gaillard  was  a  soldier  by  birth,  education  and 
instincts  and  it  was  therefore  eminently  fitting  that 
the  final  disposition  of  his  earthly  remains  should 
be  through  the  impressive  ceremony  of  a  military 
funeral.  The  escort  consisted  of  the  Battalion  of 
United  States  Engineers  and  Band  from  Washing- 
ton Barracks.  Services  were  held  at  St.  John's 
Episcopal  Cliurch,  the  ^^ Church  of  the  Presidents/' 
Sixteenth  and  H  Streets.  The  chancel  was  filled 
with  floral  offerings  from  the  President  of  the 
United  States  and  Mrs.  Wilson,  Secretary  of 
War  and  Mrs.  Garrison,  the  Chief  of  Engineers, 
the  Officers  of  the  Engineer  Corps  in  Washington, 
the  Third  U.  S.  Volunteer  Engineers,  the  class  of 
'84  at  West  Point,  the  Aqueduct  Office  (Washing- 
ton), the  Isthmian  Canal  Commission  (Panama  Of- 
fice), the  Isthmian  Canal  Commission  (Washington 
Office),  the  Directors  of  the  Panama  Eailroad,  the 

145 


Senators  from  South  Carolina,  the  Representatives 
from  South  Carolina,  the  Municipality  of  Winns- 
boro,  S.  C,  besides  many  from  personal  friends. 

The  casket  was  draped  in  the  National  Flag,  to 
which  he  had  devoted  nearly  the  whole  of  his  life. 

Mrs.  Gaillard  was  attended  by  her  son,  Pierre,  and 
other  members  of  the  family. 

The  President  was  not  able  to  attend,  but  Mrs. 
Wilson  was  present  in  the  pew  immediately  behind 
the  family. 

Behind  the  President's  pew  sat  the  Secretary  of 
War,  Hon.  Lindley  M.  Garrison;  the  Assistant  Secre- 
tary of  War,  Hon.  Henry  S.  Breckinridge;  and  the 
Chief  of  Staff,  Major-General  Leonard  Wood.  Two 
pews  were  occupied  by  representatives  of  the  3d 
Volunteer  Engineers.  Colonel  Eugene  J.  Spencer, 
Captain  Frank  L.  Averill,  Lieutenants  Hamilton, 
Barney,  Baumgardner,  Sergeant  Grove  and  others 
were  present. 

Mrs.  Averill  was  there,  also,  and  Mrs.  Jadwin. 
Colonel  Edgar  Jadwin  was  unfortunately  on  duty 
as  a  witness  before  the  United  States  Court  in  Gal- 
veston, Texas,  and  could  not  be  present.  Col.  Henry 
C.  Davis,  Gaillard 's  brother-in-law,  was  on  his  way 
to  the  Philippines. 

Two  pews  were  reserved  for  the  Class  of  1884, 
Gaillard 's  class  at  West  Point.  In  them  sat 
Colonels  Edwin  B.  Babbitt,  Henry  D.  Styer  and  E. 
F.  Ladd,  Maj.  D'R.  Cabell,  Mr.  Constant  E.  Jones, 
Mr.  James  A.  Long,  Mr.  M.  Nibben,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Edward  B.  Clark,  Mrs.  Harry  Taylor  and  Mrs. 
Stephen  M.  Foote.  Colonel  W.  L.  Sibert  had  started 
a  few  days  before  on  his  return  trip  to  Panama. 

Two  pews  were  reserved  for  the  South  Carolina 

146 


Congressional  delegation.  In  them  sat  Senator  and 
Mrs.  Benjamin  R.  Tillman,  Senator  and  Mrs.  Elli- 
son D.  Smith,  Mrs.  Finley  and  Mr.  David  E.  Finley, 
Jr.,  wife  and  son  of  Representative  Finley,  and  Rep- 
resentatives Wyatt  Aiken,  James  F.  Byrnes,  David 
E.  Finley,  Asbury  F.  Lever,  Jos.  T.  Johnson,  Richard 
S.  Whaley  and  J.  Willard  Ragsdale. 

Among  others  in  attendance  were  noted  Lieut, 
den.  John  C.  Bates,  retired,  and  Brig.-Gen.  John 
M.  Wilson,  retired,  and  many  officers  of  the  Corps 
of  Engineers  on  both  the  active  and  retired  list. 

The  pallbearers,  in  full  dress  uniform,  were  the 
following: 

Col.  William  M.  Black,  Corps  of  Engineers ; 

Col.  Stephen  M.  Foote,  Coast  Artillery  Corps; 

Col.  Edward  Burr,  Corps  of  Engineers; 

Col.  William  C.  Langfitt,  Corps  of  Engineers ; 

Lieut.-Col.  Harry  Taylor,  Corps  of  Engineers; 

Lieut.-Col.  Joseph  E.  Kuhn,  Corps  of  Engineers ; 

Lieut.-Col.  Chester  Harding,  Corps  of  Engineers; 

Lieut.-Col.  Edgar  A.  Mearns,  retired.  Medical  De- 
partment. 

The  services  at  the  church  were  conducted  by 
Rev.  Roland  Cotton  Smith,  rector  of  St.  John  ^s ;  Rev. 
Dr.  Randolph  H.  McKim,  rector  of  the  Church  of  the 
Epiphany;  Rev.  Dr.  Williamson  Smith,  and  Rev. 
E.  S.  Dunlap,  assistant  to  the  rector  of  St.  John's. 

The  vested  choir  sang  ^^Rock  of  Ages,''  and 
*^ Asleep  in  Jesus,"  Gaillard's  favorite  hymns. 

The  casket  was  placed  on  an  artillery  caisson  and 
the  cortege  proceeded  to  beautiful  Arlington,  the 
National  Cemetery. 

The  final  words  of  the  ritual  were  pronounced  by 
Rev.  E.  S.  Dunlap.    Three  volleys  were  fired  by  the 

147 


Engineer  battalion  and  *^ Taps''  was  sounded  by 
Chief  Musician  Frank  J.  Weber,  who  was  band 
leader  of  Gaillard's  regiment,  the  3d  Engineers. 

The  grave  is  on  a  southern  slope,  near  the  last 
resting  place  of  many  another  soldier  who  gave  his 
life  in  the  service  of  his  country. 

{The  state,  Columbia,  S.  C,  Dec.  14,  1913) 

The  four  companies  composing  the  engineer  bat- 
talion stationed  in  Washington  were  drawn  up  at 
*' present  arms''  while  the  casket,  flag  draped,  was 
borne  into  the  church.  Only  two  floral  pieces  were 
placed  upon  it  with  the  colors — a  beautiful  bunch  of 
carnations  and  palm  leaves  which  went  from  the 
White  House  to  Baltimore — the  personal  token  of 
sympathy  from  the  wife  of  the  president  to  the 
widow  of  the  distinguished  engineer — and  a  crescent 
from  the  Third  United  States  engineers.  All  other 
flowers  were  placed  in  the  church — a  magnificent 
display,  filling  the  entire  chancel. 

MRS.  GAILLARD  TO  THE  THIRD  U.  S.  VOLUNTEER 
ENGINEERS 

Mrs.  Gaillard,  in  a  letter  to  the  Third  U.  S.  Volun- 
teer Engineer  Association,  expressed  her  deep  ap- 
preciation of  the  action  of  the  Regiment  in  the  hour 
of  affliction. 

Ridgeway,  So.  Ca., 
16  December,  1913. 
E.  M.  Pirkey,  Esq., 

Sec.  3rd  U.  S.  V.  Engrs. 
My  Dear  Mr.  Pirkey : 

Will  you,  as  Secretary,  express  to  the  3rd  Engi- 
neers my  very  deep  and  warm  appreciation  of  their 

148 


sympathy  in  this  time  of  sorrow,  and  my  thanks  for 
the  magnificent  crescent  of  red  and  white  roses,  the 
engineer  colors,  and  the  beautiful  lilies  sent  to  Balti- 
more, as  tributes  to  my  husband!  These  were 
placed  on  the  casket,  over  the  flag  he  served  so  well, 
and  went  with  him  to  Arlington.  Of  all  the  offer- 
ings, I  am  sure  none  could  have  been  more  precious 
to  him,  could  he  have  known.  He  loved  his  regi- 
ment, as  it  grew  under  his  eyes  to  that  wonderful 
efficiency  finally  attained,  it  filled  his  heart  with 
pride  and  affection.  When  it  ceased  to  exist,  he  felt 
something  gone  out  of  his  life,  until  in  the  reunions 
he  realized  that  though  officially  mustered  out,  they 
were  still  bound  together  by  ties  of  affection  and 
trust,  ties  only  developed  when  men  have  been 
thrown  together  as  men  and  have  stood  shoulder  to 
shoulder.  Of  all  his  achievements,  not  even  except- 
ing Culebra  Cut,  there  was  none  in  which  he  felt 
greater  pride  than  in  the  Eegiment  of  3rd  Engineers 
and  their  wonderful  record.  They  tell  me  that  it 
was  Mr.  Weber,  our  band  leader,  who  sounded  taps 
over  the  grave.  I  am  pleased  that  it  was  one  who 
loved  him,  who  sounded  for  him  and  for  me,  *  *  Lights 
Out.'' 

My  husband  was  a  man  so  modest  that  satisfac- 
tion of  work  well  done  was  all  the  reward  he  de- 
sired, but  could  he  have  known  of  the  spontaneous 
and  appreciative  ^^Well  done,  thou  good  and  faith- 
ful servant, ' '  sent  up  by  the  entire  country,  he  would 
have  been  deeply  touched,  and  for  me  to  feel  that  his 
sacrifice  is  so  appreciated,  must  in  time  soften  my 
sorrow.  The  country  loses  only  the  engineer,  but 
we,  his  friends,  lose  the  man,  and  in  the  emptiness  he 
leaves  behind  him,  and  in  my  loneliness  I  shall  al- 

149 


ways  remember  and  appreciate  the  warm  sympathy 
of  the  dear  3rd ;  and  it  will  comfort  and  help  me,  for 
like  him  I  loved  it  and  was  proud  of  it;  and  feeling 
that  they  know  this,  I  am, 

Most  faithfully  yours  arid  theirs, 

B^ATHERINE  GaILLARD. 


150 


THE  GAILLARD  MEMORIALS 


THE  GAILLARD  MEMORIALS 

ORDER  DESIGNATING  "CAMP  GAILLARD" 

War  Department, 
The  Adjutant  General's  Office, 
Washington,  February  6,  1915. 

From:     The  Adjutant  General  of  the  Army. 

To:         The  Commanding  General,  Eastern  Depart- 
ment, Governors  Island,  New  York. 

Subject :    Name  of  new  post  at  Culebra,  Canal  Zone. 

Referring  to  your  indorsement  of  January  16, 
1915,  on  letter  dated  January  15, 1915,  from  the  com- 
manding officer,  29th  Infantry,  on  the  above  stated 
subject,  I  am  directed  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to 
inform  you  that  the  new  post  at  Culebra,  Canal  Zone, 
is  designated  and  will,  hereafter,  be  known  as  Camp 
Gaillard,  in  honor  of  the  late  Lieut.-Col.  David  DuB. 
Gaillard,  Corps  of  Engineers. 

H.  P.  McCain. 
By  command  of  Major  General  Murray: 

Eben  Swift, 
Colonel,  General  Staff, 
Chief  of  Staff. 

"CULEBRA"  RENAMED  "GAILLARD  CUT" 

The  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  renaming  * '  Cule- 
bra ' '  in  honor  of  Colonel  Gaillard,  was  voiced  in  va- 
rious resolutions,  among  which  may  be  noted  the  fol- 
lowing by  the  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce : 

The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Chicago  Associa- 
tion of  Commerce,  upon  the  initiative  of  the  subdivi- 

153 


sion  of  Engineers  of  the  Association  on  July  10, 
1915,  by  unanimous  vote,  adopted  the  following 
resolution: 

Whereas,  David  DuBo-se  Gaillal-d,  lieutenant- 
colonel,  Corps  of  Engineers,  United  States  Army, 
late  an  Isthmian  Canal  Commissioner  in  charge  of 
the  Culebra  Division,  died  December  fifth,  nineteen 
hundred  and  thirteen,  from  disease  resulting  from 
his  long  and  arduous  service  in  the  construction  of 
the  Panama  Canal,  and 

Whereas,  his  untimely  death  deprived  him  and  his 
family  of  the  public  honors  and  material  rewards 
which  he  had  justly  earned,  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Chicago  Association  of  Com- 
merce concur  in  the  recommendation  of  the  Engi- 
neers' Subdivision  of  the  Association  that  the  great 
work  of  David  DuBose  Gaillard  in  the  service  of  his 
country  should  be  appropriately  recognized;  that 
Culebra  Cut  be  henceforth  called  the  Gaillard  Cut 
and  a  monument  inscribed  as  a  memorial  to  the  serv- 
ice and  sacrifice  of  Colonel  Gaillard  be  erected  on 
the  banks  of  the  Gaillard  Cut. 

EXECUTIVE  ORDER 

The  President  issued  an  Executive  Order  renam- 
ing Culebra,  as  follows : 

It  is  hereby  ordered  that  the  portion  of  the  Pan- 
ama Canal  through  the  Continental  Divide  hereto- 
fore known  as  ** Culebra  Cut''  shall  hereafter  be 
named  *' Gaillard  Cut"  in  honor  of  the  late  Lieut.- 
Col.  D.  D.  Gaillard,  Corps  Engr.  United  States 
Army. 

As  a  member  of  the  Isthmian  Canal  Commission 

154 


Tablet  erected  in  Cullum  Hall,  West  Point,  N.  Y. 

by  the  Class  of  1884 

United  States  Military  Academy 

Unveiled  June  11,  1914,  on  the  30th  anniversary  of 
Colonel  Gaillard's  graduation 


from  March  16,  1907,  to  Deceniber  5,  1913,  Lieut.- 
Col.  Gaillard  was  in  charge  of  the  work  in  Culebra 
Cut  until  its  virtual  completion,  being  compelled  to 
abandon  his  duties  in  July,  1913,  through  an  illness 
which  culminated  in  his  death  on  December  5,  1913. 
His  period  of  Panama  Canal  Service  included  the 
years  of  most  active  construction  work.  He  brought 
to  the  service  trained  ability  of  the  highest  class,  un- 
tiring zeal,  and  unswerving  devotion  to  duty. 

I  deem  it  a  fitting  recognition  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Gaillard 's  service  to  the  country  to  re-name 
in  his  honor,  the  scene  of  his  life 's  triumph. 

(Signed)  Woodrow  Wilson. 
The  White  House, 
28  April,  1915. 

'84  WEST  POINT  MEMORIAL  TABLET 
(From  '84  Bulletin,  West  Point,  July  1,  1914.) 

The  Class  of  1884,  United  States  Military 
Academy,  at  its  30th  reunion  at  West  Point  in  June, 
1914,  unveiled  a  memorial  tablet  to  Colonel  Gaillard. 

Colonel  Edwin  E.  Babbitt,  on  behalf  of  the  Class 
of  1884,  spoke  at  the  unveiling  as  follows: 

We  gather  here  today  as  a  token  of  respect  and 
admiration. 

Nothing  that  I  can  say  would  add  a  tithe  to  the 
fame  of  the  classmate  whose  name  appears  on  the 
tablet  before  us.  Davy,  of  himself,  has  written  his 
name  in  everlasting  letters  in  the  minds  of  men. 
But  with  us,  his  classmates,  even  before  this  great 
work  came  to  him,  his  loving  personality  inscribed 
his  name  upon  our  hearts. 

Year  by  year,  as  our  members  dwindle,  some  one 

155 


of  '84  will  stand  here  as  we  are  now  and  remember 
more  the  dear  classmate  than  the  great  engineer. 

It  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  no  matter  how 
great  the  mind  and  personality,  he  who  did  not  win 
the  hearts,  but  only  the  minds  of  his  associates, 
failed  in  a  requisite  of  greatness. 

Davy  warmed  to  him  the  minds  and  hearts  of  all 
who  knew  him. 

A  few  weeks  ago  Dick  Richardson  gathered  to- 
gether a  number  of  the  class  in  Washington  where 
some  spoke  of  Gaillard  with  sadness.  Dick  objected — 
**To  few  men,"  he  said,  *^does  great  opportunity 
come ;  to  Davy  it  appeared  and  he  was  equal  to  the 
task  and  passed  over  the  divide  in  the  fullness  of 
victory.    No  greater  could  come  to  any  man. ' ' 

HUGUENOT  MEMORIAL 

The  Huguenot  Society  of  South  Carolina  and  the 
Huguenot  Church  Aid  Society  have  erected  a  tablet 
to  the  memory  of  Colonel  Gaillard.  This  tablet  is 
on  the  east  wall  of  the  interior  of  the  old  Huguenot 
Church  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  to  the  right  of  the  pulpit. 
In  its  immediate  vicinity  there  are  a  number  of 
tablets  of  distinguished  Huguenots;  among  others — 
Lanier,  Maury,  Martha  Washington  and  Gen.  W.  H. 
F.  Lee. 

GENERAL  ORDERS  NO.  31 
(Here  given  in  full;  quoted  in  part  on  page  65  under  "OflB- 
cial  Actions.") 

War  Department, 
Office  of  the  Chief  of  Engineers, 
Washington,  December  9,  1913. 
General  Orders,  No.  31. 

To  the  Corps  of  Engineers  is  announced  the  sad 
intelligence  of  the  death  of  Lieut.-Col.  David  DuB. 

156 


David  duBosE  Gaillard  U.S.A. 
So.Ca.  Culebra  Cut  Panama. 

1859         " -, .1913. 


MEMORIAL  TABLET 

Erected  by  the  Huguenot  Church  and  the  Huguenot  Aid  Society 

on  the  east  interior  wall  and  to  the  right  of  the  pulpit 

in  the  Huguenot  Church,  Charleston,  S.  C. 


Gaillard,  Corps  of  Engineers,  which  occurred  at 
Baltimore,  Md.,  on  December  5,  1913. 

Colonel  Gaillard  was  bom  in  South  Carolina  Sep- 
tember 4,  1859.  He  was  graduated  from  the  United 
States  Military  Academy  and  promoted  in  the  Army 
to  second  lieutenant.  Corps  of  Engineers,  June  15, 
1884,  and  passed  through  all  the  intermediate  grades 
to  that  of  lieutenant-colonel,  which  he  reached  April 
11,  1909. 

He  served  with  the  Battalion  of  Engineers  at  Wil- 
lets  Point,  N.  Y.,  September  3,  1884,  to  April  18, 
1887 ;  as  assistant  to  the  officer  in  charge  of  river  and 
harbor  works  in  Florida  until  November,  1891;  as 
member  of  the  International  Boundary  Commission 
between  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  November, 
1891,  to  November,  1896;  assistant  in  local  charge  of 
defensive  works  at  Fort  Monroe,  Va.,  February  12 
to  October  10,  1895;  assistant  in  local  charge  of 
Washington  Aqueduct  and  in  charge  of  Washington 
Aqueduct  and  water  supply  of  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  October  11,  1895,  to  May  3,  1898,  except 
when  engaged  on  survey  of  Portland  Channel, 
Alaska,  August  to  November,  1896;  engineer  officer 
on  the  staff  of  Maj.-Gen.  James  F.  Wade,  United 
States  Volunteers,  May  6  to  June  11,  1898.  He  was 
appointed  colonel.  Third  Eegiment,  United  States 
Volunteer  Engineers,  June  7,  1898,  and  was  in  com- 
mand of  his  regiment  in  the  United  States  and  in 
Cuba  from  June  12,  1898,  to  May  17,  1899,  when 
honorably  mustered  out  of  volunteer  service. 

Served  as  assistant  in  connection  with  the  Wash- 
ington Aqueduct,  May  22  to  September  9,  1899;  as 
assistant  to  the  Engineer  Commissioner,  District  of 
Columbia,  September  9,  1899,  to  March  6,  1901;  in 

157 


charge  of  river  and  harbor  works,  with  station  at 
Duluth,  Minn.,  March  9,  1901,  to  June  6,  1903;  on 
special  duty  in  connection  with  the  General  Staff 
Corps,  at  Vancouver  Barracks,  Wash.,  June  9,  1903, 
to  January  11,  1904;  a  member  of  the  General  Staff 
Corps,  August  15,  1903,  to  May  18,  1904;  as  Chief 
of  Staff,  Department  of  the  Columbia,  October  13, 

1903,  to  January  9,  1904;  assistant  to  the  Chief  of 
Staff  of  the  Northern  Division,  January  15  to  Oc- 
tober 31,  1904;  on  special  duty  at  Headquarters  of 
the  Northern  Division,  November  1-13,  1904;  under 
instruction  at  the  Army  War  College,  November  14, 

1904,  to  March,  1905.  Member  of  the  General  Staff 
Corps,  March  23,  1905,  to  March  22,  1907;  assistant 
to  the  Chief  of  Staff  of  the  Expedition  to  Cuba,  Sep- 
tember 29,  1906,  to  February  21,  1907.  Member  of 
the  Isthmian  Canal  Commission  March  22,  1907. 
Supervisory  engineer  in  charge  of  dredging  in  the 
harbors,  of  building  the  necessary  breakwaters,  and 
of  all  excavations  in  the  canal  prism,  except  that  in- 
cidental to  lock  and  dam  construction,  April,  1907, 
to  June,  1908;  Division  Engineer,  Central  Division 
(including  Culebra  Cut),  Isthmian  Canal,  July,  1908, 
to  the  date  of  his  death. 

On  December  6,  1913,  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  adopted  the  following 
resolution: 

^'Resolved,  That  the  House  of  Representatives 
has  heard  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death  of 
Lieut.-Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard,  for  whose  con- 
spicuous and  valuable  services  in  connection  with 
the  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal  the  Nation  is 
indebted. 

158 


'^Eesolved,  That  the  Clerk  of  the  House  transmit 
a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  family  of  the  de- 
ceased/' 

On  December  8,  1913,  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  adopted  the  following  resolution: 

^^Eesolved,  That  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
has  heard  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death  of 
Lieut.-Col.  David  DuBose  Gaillard,  to  whom  the 
American  people  are  under  lasting  obligations  for 
the  splendid  service  he  rendered  in  overcoming  some 
of  the  most  perplexing  difficulties  in  connection  with 
the  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal. 

**  Resolved,  That  in  further  testimonial  of  our 
esteem  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  be  authorized  to 
forward  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  family  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Gaillard. ' ' 

Colonel  Gaillard  was  the  author  of  Professional 
Papers  No.  31,  Corps  of  Engineers,  *  ^  Wave  Action  in 
Relation  to  Engineering  Structures. ' ' 

As  a  tribute  to  his  memory  the  officers  of  the 
Corps  of  Engineers  will  wear  the  usual  badge  of 
mourning  for  30  days. 

[90946— C.  of  E.] 

By  command  of  the  Chief  of  Engineers: 

Edw.  Burr, 
Colonel,  Corps  of  Engineers. 


159 


SOME  OFFICIAL  LETTERS  RELATING 

TO  COLONEL  GAILLARDS 

EARLIER  WORK 


SOME    OFFICIAL    LETTERS    RELATING    TO 
COLONEL  GAILLARD'S  EARLIER  WORK 

THE  ADJUTANT  GENERAL  TO  THE  CHIEF  OF  ENGINEERS 

Headquarters  of  the  Army. 
7137,  A.  G.  0. 1894. 

Adjutant  GeneraPs  Office, 
Washington,  May  17,  1894. 
To  the  Chief  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  Army. 

Sir:  The  Major-General  commanding  the  Army 
directs  me  to  acknowledge  the  receipt,  through  your 
reference  of  the  10th  inst.,  of  an  interesting  and 
valuable  paper  prepared  by  First  Lieut.  D.  D.  Gail- 
lard,  Corps  of  Engineers,  embracing  a  description  of 
the  country,  roads,  trails,  water  and  grass,  etc.,  along 
the  Mexican  Boundary  Line  between  the  Rio  Grande 
and  the  Pacific;  with  maps  accompanying;  and  to 
say  that  the  thanks  of  the  Army  are  due  to  the  Engi- 
neer Department  for  this  valuable  information. 
Very  respectfully, 

Geo.  D.  Ruggles,  Adj.-Gen. 

THE  CHIEF  OF  ENGINEERS  TO  THE  SECRETARY  OF  WAR 

Office  of  the  Chief  of  Engineers,  United  States  Army. 
Washington,  D.  C,  Nov.  14,  1896. 
Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  accompany- 
ing copy  of  letter  of  November  3, 1896,  from  Capt.  D. 
D.  Gaillard,  Corps  Engs.,  enclosing  his  report  of  re- 
sults of  preliminary  examination  of  Portland  Chan- 
nel (Canal)  Alaska. 

163 


The  duty  assigned  Captain  Gaillard  has  been  per- 
formed in  a  prompt  and  very  satisfactory  manner 
and  his  unusually  interesting  report  is  submitted  for 
such  action  as  may  be  deemed  proper  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Secretary  of  War. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  P.  Craighill, 
Brig.  Gen.  Chief  of  Engs. 
Hon.  Daniel  S.  Lamont, 

Secretary  of  War. 


THE  SECRETARY  OF  STATE  TO  MEMBERS'  OF  THE  U.  S. 
INTERNATIONAL  BOUNDARY  COMMISSION 

Department  of  State. 

Washington,  Nov.  28,  1896. 

Col.  J.  W.  Barlow, 

Col.  Corps  Engs.  U.  S  Army. 
Capt.  D.  D.  Gaillard, 

Capt  Corps.  Engs.  U.  S.  Army. 
A.  T.  Mosman,  Esq., 

Asst.  C.  G.  Survey,  Commissioners,  etc. 

Gentlemen : 

I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of 
the  25th  ult.  submitting  your  final  report  touching 
the  survey  and  re-marking  of  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Mexico,  pursuant  to 
the  Convention  of  July  29,  *82,  and  subsequently  re- 
vised, and  continued  to  Oct.  11,  1896. 

I  wish  to  convey  to  you  an  expression  of  the  De- 
partment's thanks  for  the  manner  in  which  you  have 
discharged  the  onerous  and  delicate  duties  confided 
to  you,  and  its  appreciation  of  the  character  and  in- 
telligence of  the  report. 

164 


I  shall  at  the  proper  time  lay  it  before  the  Presi- 
dent and  take  his  direction  in  regard  to  its  submis- 
sion to  Congress  at  its  approaching  session.  I  shall 
notify  the  Secretary  of  War  that  the  final  report 
having  been  submitted,  Colonel  Barlow  and  Captain 
Gaillard  are  released  from  further  service  under  the 
Department  of  State,  except  when  it  comes  to  read- 
ing the  proof  of  the  report  the  Department  may  de- 
sire to  avail  itself  of  their  services  in  order  that  its 
technical  character  may  be  competently  and  ac- 
curately proof  read. 

I  am,  gentlemen, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  Etchard  Olney. 


THE  SECRETARY  OP  STATE  TO  THE  SECRETARY  OF  WAR 

Department  of  State. 

Washington,  Nov.  28, 1896. 
The  Honorable, 

The  Secretary  of  War. 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  say  that  Col.  I.  W.  Bar- 
low and  Capt.  D.  D.  Gaillard,  Corps  of  Engineers,  U. 
S.  A.,  who  were  detailed  by  your  department  for 
service  under  this  Department  in  connection  with 
the  survey  and  re-marking  of  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Mexico,  pursuant  to  the 
Convention  of  July  29,  1882,  as  subsequently  revised 
and  continued  to  October  11,  1896,  have  submitted 
with  their  colleague,  Mr.  A.  T.  Mosman  of  the  U.  S. 
C.  G.  Survey,  their  final  report.    .    .     . 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  say  that  these  officers  have  not 
only  discharged  their  important  and  delicate  duties 

165 


with  high  ability,  care  and  fidelity,  but  that  they 
earned  the  thanks  of  this  Department,  which   are 
hereby  tendered,  and  which  I   trust   you   will   ap- 
propriately make  known  to  them. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be.  Sir, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)  Eichakd  Olney. 

LETTERS  FROM  THE  SECRETARY  OP  STATE  AND  THE 
SECRETARY  OF  WAR  TO  THE  CHIEF  OF  ENGINEERS 

War  Department,  Office  of  the  Secretary,  Washington 

Dec.  7,  1896. 
Sir:  I  take  pleasure  in  transmitting  herewith, 
copy  of  a  letter  just  received  from  Secretary  of 
State,  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  a  copy  of  your 
report  on  the  preliminary  examination  of  Portland 
Channel  (Canal)  Alaska  and  expressing  his  satis- 
faction with  the  manner  in  which  the  work  was  per- 
formed. 

Very  respectfully, 
(Signed)  Daniel  S.  Lamont, 
Secretary  of  War. 
Gen.  W.  P.  Craighill, 
Chief  of  Engineers. 

Department  of  State,  Washington. 

Dec.  4, 1896. 
The  Honorable  The  Secretary  of  War. 

Sir:  I  have  to  acknowledge  with  thanks  the  re- 
ceipt of  your  letter  of  the  2nd  inst.,  transmitting 
for  the  information  of  this  Department,  a  copy  of 
a  report  of  Capt.  D.  D.  Gaillard,  Corps  Engs.  U.  S. 
A.,  showing  the  results  of  a  preliminary  examination 

166 


of  Portland  Channel  (Canal),  Alaska.    The  Depart- 
ment is  much  pleased  that  the  work  has  been  so  well 
and  so  intelligently  accomplished. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  Kichard  Olney. 

LIEUT.-COL.  JOHN  BIDDLE  TO  LIBUT.-COL.  EDGAR  JADWIN 

Headquarters  3rd  Battalion. 

Matanzas,  Cuba,  Jan.  2,  1899. 
To  Lieut.-Col.  Edgar  Jadwin, 

3rd  Battalion  3rd  U.  S.  Volunteer  Engineers. 
Sir:  The  Commanding  General  of  the  Spanish 
forces  at  Matanzas  has  requested  me  to  express  on 
the  part  of  the  Lieutenant-General  Commanding 
Spanish  forces  in  Cuba,  and  on  the  part  of  the  offi- 
cers under  his  command  at  Matanzas  their  thanks 
and  appreciation  for  the  consideration  and  soldierly 
conduct  shown  them  by  the  officers  and  men  under 
your  orders  on  the  occasion  of  taking  possession 
of  this  city  by  the  United  States  forces  on  Jan.  1, 
1899. 

I  desire  also  to  state  that  the  conduct  of  the  Bat- 
talion, since  its  arrival  here  and  under  somewhat 
difficult  conditions,  has  been  in  my  opinion  exem- 
plary and  worthy  of  the  reputation  for  discipline  and 
efficiency  already  attained  by  the  3rd  U.  S.  V.  Engi- 
neers. 

Very  respectfully, 

(Signed)  John  Biddle, 
Lieut.-Col.  Chief  Engs.  1st  Army  Corps. 


167 


LETTER  FROM  GEN.  JOHN  H.  WILSON,  CHIEF  OF 
ENGINEERS 

Office  Chief  of  Engineers,  United  States  Army, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Jan.  18,  1899. 
Col.  David  DuB.  Gaillard, 

3rd  Eegt.  U.  S.  Vol.  Engrs., 

Camp  Fomance,  Macon,  Georgia. 
Colonel : 

I  have  to  acknowledge  with  thanks  your  courtesy 
in  sending  for  the  files  of  this  office  photographs  of 
the  admirable  work  done  by  your  command.  Such 
work  indicates  thorough  organization,  skill  and  dis- 
cipline. 

I  congratulate  you  upon  your  regiment  and  I  con- 
gratulate the  regiment  upon  having  so  accomplished 
and  soldierly  a  commanding  officer. 

Yours  very  respectfully, 

(Signed)  John  M.  Wilson, 
Brig.-Gen.  Chief  of  Engrs.,  U.  S.  A. 

LETTER  FROM  CAPT.  WALTER  B.  BARKER 

Office  of  Depot  Quartermaster,  Cienfuegos,  Cuba. 

Cuba,  Apr.  13,  '99. 
Col.  D.  D.  Gaillard, 

Commanding  3rd  Reg.  U.  S.  V.  Engrs., 
Cienfuegos,  Cuba. 
Colonel : 

It  is  due  and  I  take  great  pleasure  in  saying  to  you 
that  with  an  experience  of  over  eight  months  as 
Depot  Quartermaster,  and  in  charge  of  Ocean  and 
R.  R.  Transportation,  your  command  has  limited  the 
accustomed  requests  and  demands  on  my  Depart- 

168 


ment  to  a  minimum,  while  on  the  other  hand  it  has 
rendered  me  continual  material  assistance. 

In  common  with  all  who  are  familiar  with  the  ef- 
ficiency of  your  regiment  I  regret  that  the  Govern- 
ment is  to  lose  its  service. 

With  a  grateful  remembrance  of  your  considera- 
tion to  me  personally  as  well  as  officially,  believe  me, 
Your  friend, 

Waltek  B.  Barker, 
Capt.  &  A.  Q.  M.  U.  S.  Vols.  Depot  Quartermaster  in 

Charge  Ocean  &  E.  R.  Trans.,  Captain  of  the  Port. 

LETTER  FROM  CAPT.  F.  W.  WOODRING 

Office  of  Quartermaster,  Detention  Camp,  Daufuski 
Island,  S.  C. 

May  4,  1899. 
Colonel  Gaillard, 

Comdg.  3rd  U.  S.  V.  Engrs., 
Atlanta,  Georgia. 
Sir :    I  take  occasion  to  write  and  inform  you  that 
your  regiment  left  its  camp  in  the  cleanest  and  best 
condition  of  any  regiment  that  has  been  detained  on 
the  Island  of  Daufuski. 

I  also  wish  to  state  that  there  was  less  confusion 
and  delay  in  breaking  camp  and  loading  on  to  the 
river  boats  preparatory  to  moving  than  any  other 
regiment.  I  know  that  this  report  will  be  gratify- 
ing to  you. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  F.  W.  Woodring, 
Capt.  A.  Q.  M.,  Asst.  Depot  Q.  M. 


169 


LETTER  FROM  LIEUT.-GEN.  ADNA  R.  CHAFFEE 

Office  of  the  Chief  of  Staff,  Washington. 

January  17,  1905. 
Major  David  DuB.  Gaillard, 
Corps  of  Engineers, 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Sir:    In  order  that  your  record  at  the  War  De- 
partment may  fully  set  forth  your  attainments  as 
an  officer  in  special  lines,  I  take  occasion  to  thank 
you  for  your  services  while  on  a  confidential  mission 
for  the  War  Department  during  the  past  year. 

The  Chief  of  the  Second  Division,  General  Staff, 
remarks  as  follows : 

**The  records  of  the  division  show  that  Major 
David  DuB.  Gaillard,  Corps  of  Engineers,  while  on  a 
confidential  mission,  displayed  energy,  discretion 
and  ability  in  carrying  out  his  instructions.'* 

The  Military  Secretary  has  been  instructed  to  file 
with  your  efficiency  record  a  copy  of  this  communica- 
tion. 

Very  respectfully, 

(Signed)  Adna  R.  Chaffee, 
Lieut.-General,  Chief  of  Staff. 


170 


CHRONOLOGY  AND 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 


CHRONOLOGY  OF  DAVID  DuBOSE  GAIL- 
LARD 


Sept.  4,  1859.  Born  at  Fulton,  Sumter  Coun- 

ty, S.  C. 

July  1, 1880,  to  U.  S.  Military  Academy,  West 

June  15,  1884.         Point,  N.  Y. 

June  15, 1884.  Graduated  from  U.  S.  Military 

Academy. 

June  15, 1884.  Commissioned  2nd  Lieutenant 

of  Engineers. 

Sept.  30, 1884,  to        Engineer  School   of  Appliea- 
April  18, 1887.         tion,  Willets  Point,  N.  Y.    On 
duty  with  Battalion  of  Engi- 
neers. 

April  18,  1887.  Graduated      from       Engineer 

School  of  Application,  Willets 
Point,  N.  Y. 

April  9, 1887,  to  Assistant    to    the    officer     in 

Nov.  6,  1891.  charge  of  the  river  and  harbor 

improvements  in  Florida,  with 

station  at  Jacksonville  and  St. 

Augustine. 

Oct.  6,  1887.  Married    to    Katherine    Ross 

Davis  of  Columbia,   S.   C,   at 
Winnsboro,  S.  C. 

173 


Oct.  22,  1887.  Commissioned   1st   Lieutenant 

of  Engineers. 

Sept.  30, 1891,  to  Member  of  the  International 
Nov.  28,  1896.  Boundary  Commission,  for  the 
survey  and  the  re-marking  of 
the  boundary  between  the 
United  States  and  Mexico, 
west  of  the  Rio  Grande. 

Feb.  14, 1895,  to  In  local   charge   of  defensive 

Oct.  10, 1895.  works  at  Fort  Monroe,  Va. 

Oct.  25, 1895.  Commissioned      Captain       of 

Engineers. 

Oct.  11, 1895,  to  Assistant,  in  local  charge   of 

Dec.  20, 1895.  Washington  Aqueduct. 

Dec.  20,  1895,  to         In     charge     of     Washington 
May  3,  1898.  Aqueduct,  and  of  works  for  in- 

creasing water  supply  of 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Aug.  17, 1896,  to         Survey   of   Portland    Channel 
Nov.  13, 1896.  (Canal),  Alaska. 

June  10,  1898.  Engineer  officer  on  the  Staff  of 

Maj.-Gen.  Jas.  F.  Wade, 
United  States  Volunteers,  at 
Tampa,  Fla.,  and  Chickamau- 
ga,  Tenn. 

June  7,  1898.  Commissioned   Colonel,   Third 

Regiment  United  States  Volun- 
teer Engineers. 

June  11, 1898,  to         In  command  of    Third    Regi- 
May  17,  1899.  ment  of  United  States  Volun- 

teer   Engineers    at     Jefferson 

174 


Feb.  10, 1899,  to 
April  5,  1899. 

May  17, 1899. 


May  22, 1899,  to 
July  21, 1899. 


July  21, 1899,  to 
March  6,  1901. 

March  9, 1901,  to 
June  6,  1903. 


June  6, 1903,  to 
August  15,  1903. 


Aug.  15, 1903,  to 
May  18,  1904. 

Aug.  15, 1903,  to 
Oct.  15,  1903. 

Oct.  15, 1903,  to 
Jan.  9,  1904. 


Barracks,  Mo.,  Lexington,  Ky., 
Macon  and  Atlanta,  Ga.,  in  the 
United  States,  and  at  Matan- 
zas,  Cienfuegos,  and  Pinar  del 
Rio,  in  Cuba. 

Chief  Engineer,  Department  of 
Santa  Clara,  Cuba. 

Honorably  mustered  out  of 
service  with  Regiment,  at  Fort 
MacPherson,  Ga. 

Served  as  assistant  in  connec- 
tion with  Washington  Aque- 
duct and  increasing  water  sup- 
ply of  Washington,  D.  C. 

Assistant  to  Engineer  Commis- 
sioner, District  of  Columbia. 

In  charge  of  river  and  harbor 
improvements  on  Lake  Supe- 
rior, with  station  at  Duluth, 
Minn. 

On  special  duty  at  Headquar- 
ters, Department  of  the 
Columbia,  Vancouver  Bar- 
racks, Wash. 

Member  of  General  Staff 
Corps. 

Asst.  to  Chief  of  Staff,  Depart- 
ment of  the  Columbia,  Van- 
couver Barracks,  Wash. 

Chief  of  Staff,  Department  of 
the  Columbia,  Vancouver  Bar- 
racks, Wash. 
175 


Jan.  15, 1904,  to 
May  18,  1904. 

March  25, 1904,  to 
Oct.  15,  1904. 


April  23, 1904. 

Nov.  1, 1904,  to 
Nov.  13, 1904. 

Nov.  14,  1904,  to 
March  23,  1905. 

March  23, 1905,  to 
March  22,  1907. 

March  23, 1905,  to 
Oct.  6,  1906. 

Oct.  6, 1906,  to 
Feb.  21,  1907. 


March  22,  1907. 


April  1, 1907,  to 
June  30,  1908. 


Asst.  to  Chief  of  Staff,  North- 
ern Division,  Saint  Louis,  Mo. 

Engineer  officer,      Northern 

Division,  Saint     Louis,    Mo. 

(Staff  of  Maj.  Gen.  J.  C. 
Bates.) 

Commissioned  Major  of  Engi- 
neers. 

Special  duty.  Headquarters  of 
the  Northern  Division,  Saint 
Louis,  Mo. 

Under    instruction    at    Army 

War  College,  Washington,  D. 

C. 

Member  General  Staff  Corps. 

On  duty  with  General  Staff 
Corps,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Asst.  to  Chief  of  Staff,  Expedi- 
tion to  Cuba,  Chief  of  Military 
Information  Division,  Army  of 
Cuban  Pacification,  Marianao, 
Cuba. 

Member  of  the  Isthmian  Canal 
Commission.  Director  of  the 
Panama  Railroad. 

Supervisory  Engineer,  in 
charge  of  dredging  harbors,  of 
building  breakwaters,  and  of 
all  excavation  in  the  canal 
prism,  except  that  incidental 
to  lock  and  dam  construction. 


176 


July  1, 1908,  to  Division     Engineer,      Central 

Dec.  5,  1913.  Division — Gatun  to  Pedro  Mi- 

guel, including  Culebra   (now 
Gaillard)  Cut. 

April  11,  1909.  Commissioned  Lieutenant-Col- 

onel of  Engineers. 

July  26,  1913.  Stricken  with  illness  at  Cule- 

bra, which  proved  fatal. 

Aug.  14,  1913.  Arrived  in  the  United  States 

from  Panama. 

Dec.  5, 1913.  Died  at  Johns  Hopkins  Hos- 

pital, Baltimore,  Md. 

Dec.  8, 1913.  Buried  in  Arlington  National 

Cemetery,  Arlington,  Va. 


177 


BOOKS,  AKTICLES  AND  EEPORTS  BY  DAVID 
DuBOSE  GAILLAED 

REPORTS  CONTAINED  IN  ANNUAL  REPORTS  OF  THE 
CHIEF  OF  ENGINEERS— ALSO  SPECIAL  REPORTS. 


Year 

Vol.     Page 

Subject 

Date 

1888 

2     1144  to  1151 

Survey  of  Saint  Augustine  Har- 
bor, Fla. 

11/12/87 

1888 

2     1104  to  1106 

Improvement    of    Pease    River, 
Fla. 

5/2/88 

1889 

2     1317  to  1323 

Cost   of   stability   of  jetties   of 

11/20/88 

various  cross-sections,  and  force 
of  breaking  waves.  Sub't'd  to 
Board  of  Engineers  on  improv- 
ing St.  Augustine  Harbor. 


1889 

2 

1354  to  1355 

Examination 
River,  Fla. 

of      Homosassa 

1/11/89 

1889 

2 

1356  to  1357 

Examination 
Fla. 

of   Crystal   River, 

1/12/89 

1889 

2 

1361  to  1364 

Examination 
River,  Fla. 

of      Ocklawaha 

1/25/89 

1890 

2 

1571  to  1577 

Construction 

of  groins,  propor- 

6/30/90 

1891  3  1632  to  1639 

1896  6  3905  to  3941 

1897  6  3991  to  4023 

1897  4  3487  to  3498 

1898  6  3642  to  3650 


tions,  strength  and  cost  of  con- 
crete and  wave  action  in  works 
for  improving  St.  Augustine 
Harbor,  Fla. 

On  wave  action   at  St.   Angus-      6/12/91 
tine,  Fla. 

Washington    Aqueduct    and    in-      7/17/96 
creasing  water  supply  of  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

Maintenance  and  repair  of  Wash-      7/17/97 
ington  Aqueduct  and  increasing 
the  water   supply  of  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 

Preliminary      examination      of      11/3/96 
Portland       Channel        (Canal), 
Southeast  Alaska. 

Filtration  of   Water   Supply   of      1/19/98 
the  District  of  Columbia. 


178 


Year  Vol.     Page  Subject 

1898  1  in  2  parts  Report  of  Boundary  Commis- 
sion upon  survey  and  re-mark- 
ing of  the  boundary  between 
the  U.  S.  and  Mexico  west  of 
the  Rio  Grande,  1891-1896. 


1899-1900    Report  of  Operations  of  the  Engineer  De- 
partment of  the  District  of  Columbia  for 
year  ending  June  30,  1900,  pp.  13-21. 
Report  to  Engineer  Commissioner  District 
of  Columbia  by  Assistant  in  charge. 

1899  Catalogue  of  maps,  plans,  etc.,  deposited  in 
the  office  of  Chief  of  Engineers  U.  S.  Army, 
by  Col.  David  DuB.  Gaillard,  3rd  U.  S.  Vol. 
Engineers,  now  on  file  in  Army  War  College, 
Washington,  D.  C.  (Published  in  Third  U. 
S.  Vol.  Engineers'  Year  Book,  1903,  pp.  65- 
100.) 

1900  8     5126  to  5192     Report  of  Board  of  Officers  of 

the  Corps  of  Engineers  and  of 
Architects  to  consider  certain 
designs  which  had  been  submit- 
ted for  a  memorial  bridge  across 
the  Potomac  River,  Washington 
to  Arlington.  (Publisehd  as 
House  Doc.  No.  578,  56th  Cong., 
1st  Sess.)  (Col.  Gaillard  was  a 
member  of  this  board.) 

1901  1        71  to     73     Digest  of  the  services  of  Colonel 

Gaillard  in  connection  with  the 
Spanish  War,  April,  1898,  to 
May,  1899.  (Also  other  serv- 
ices rendered  by  Third  U.  S. 
Vol.  Engineers,  pp.  59,  90-91.) 

1901    4    2821  to  2906     Improvement     of     rivers     and 
harbors  on  Lake  Superior. 

Improvement  of  rivers  and 
harbors  on  Lake  Superior. 


1902  3     2001  to  2042 

Part 

1903  2     1791  to  1831 
(Appendix  K  K  ) 

1903     1       464  to    475 


Improvement     of     rivers     and 
harbors  on  Lake  Superior. 

Improvement  of  rivers  and  har- 
bors on  Lake  Superior. 


Date 
Pub- 
lished 
at  Gov- 
ernment 
Printing 
Office  in 
1898. 
8/1/00 


3/28/00 


10/1/01 


7/13/01 

7/20/02 

7/18/03 
7/18/03 


179 


year 
1904 


1905 


1906 


Subject  Date 

Professional  Papers  No.  31  Corps  Engi- 
neers. Wave  Action  in  Relation  to  Engi- 
neering Structures.  Supt.  of  Documents 
Government  Printing  Office. 

Effect  of  wave  action  at  certain  harbors  7/15/05 
on  Lake  Michigan.  Letter  .  .  .  trans- 
mitting .  .  .  report  of  effect  of  wave 
action  as  affecting  harbors  at  Ludington, 
Mich.,  and  Manitowoc,  Two  Rivers,  Racine, 
Kenosha  and  Sheboygan,  Wis.  (Washing- 
ton Govt.  Printing  Office,  1905;  59th  Cong. 
1st  Sess.  House  Doc.  62.) 

Report  of  examination  and  survey  of  9/5/06 
Duluth  Harbor,  Minn.  Report  signed  by 
Chas.  E.  L.  B.  Davis,  D.  D.  Gaillard,  W.  V. 
Judson  and  A.  MacKenzie.  (Washington 
Govt.  Printing  Offie,  1906,  13  p.  23  cm.,  59th 
Cong.  2nd  Sess.  House  Doc.  82.) 


REPORTS  CONTAINED  IN  ANNUAL  REPORTS  OF  ISTHMIAN 
CANAL  COMMISSION 


Report  as  CMef  of  Department  of  Excavation  and 
Dredging,  Isthmian  Canal  Commission  in  Annual 
Report  for  the  year  ending  June  30th,  1907  (U.  S. 
60th  Congress,  1st  session,  1907-8,  Senate  documents. 
Vol.  10),  Appendix  A.,  pp.  39-53. 

Report  as  Chief  of  Department  of  Excavation  and 
Dredging,  Isthmian  Canal  Commission,  in  Annual 
Report  for  the  year  ending  June  30th,  1908  (U.  S. 
60th  Congress,  2nd  session,  1907-8,  House  documents. 
Volume  38),  Appendix  A,  pp.  35-55. 

Report  as  Division  Engineer  in  charge  of  Central 
Division,  Isthmian  Canal  Commission,  in  Annual  Re- 
port for  the  year  ending,  June  30th,  1909  (U.  S.  61st 
Congress,  2nd  session,  1909-10,  House  documents. 
Volume  33),  Appendix  C,  pp.  37-90. 

180 


Eeport  as  Division  Engineer  in  charge  of  Central 
Division,  Isthmian  Canal  Commission,  in  Annual  Ee- 
port for  the  year  ending  June  30th,  1910  (U.  S.  61st 
Congress,  3rd  session,  1910-11,  House  documents. 
Volume  22),  Appendix  D,  pp.  137-160. 

Eeport  as  Division  Engineer  in  charge  of  Central 
Division,  Isthmian  Canal  Commission,  in  Annual  Ee- 
port for  the  year  ending  June  30th,  1911  (U.  S.  62nd 
Congress,  2nd  session,  1911-12,  House  documents, 
volume  30),  Appendix  C,  pp.  133-156. 

Eeport  as  Division  Engineer  in  charge  of  Central 
Division,  Isthmian  Canal  Commission,  in  Annual  Ee- 
port for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1912  (U.  S.  62nd 
Congress,  3rd  session,  1912-13,  House  documents. 
Volume  31),  Appendix  C,  pp.  143-170. 

Eeport  as  Division  Engineer  in  charge  of  Central 
Division,  Isthmian  Canal  Commission,  in  Annual  Ee- 
port for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1913  (U.  S.  63rd 
Congress,  2nd  session,  1913-1914,  House  documents. 
Volume  28),  Appendix  C,  pp.  139-160. 


GENERAL  ARTICLES 

*' Tidal  Else  and  Fall  in  Artesian  Well,  Fort 
Marion,  Saint  Augustine,  Florida,  * '  prepared  for  the 
Saint  Augustine  (Fla.)  Society  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  October,  1889. 

*  *  Notes  and  Sketch  of  Petrograph  and  Prehistoric 
System  of  Fortification  encountered  along  line  of 
Boundary  Survey,  United  States  and  Mexico,^* 
Bureau  of  Ethnology,  August,  1893. 

181 


*^The  Papago  of  Arizona  and  Sonora,"  in  the 
American  Anthropologist^  Washington,  July,  1894, 
pp.  293-296. 

*^A  Gigantic  Earthwork  in  New  Mexico,*'  in 
American  Anthropologist,  Washington,  September, 
1896,  pp.  293-6. 

**The  Perils  and  Wonders  of  the  True  Desert,'* 
in  the  Cosmopolitan,  N.  Y.,  October,  1896,  pp.  592- 
605. 

**The  Washington  Aqueduct  and  Cabin  John 
Bridge,*'  in  the  National  Geographic  Magazine, 
Washington,  December,  1897,  pp.  338-344. 

^^  Harbors  on  Lake  Superior,  particularly  Duluth- 
Superior  Harbor,"  in  ^'The  Transactions  of  the 
American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers, '  *  Vol.  54,  Part 
A,  being  the  first  volume  of  the  publications  of  the 
International  Engineering  Congress  held  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Society,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  Oct.  3  to  Oct. 
18,  1904  (pp.  262-296),  Paper  No.  13. 

^^Culebra  Cut  and  the  Problem  of  the  Slides."  in 
Scientific  American,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  9, 1912,  p.  388. 


182 


INDEX 


Adam  SON,  Hon.  William  C.  Re- 
port of  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Committee    upon    the    work    of 

Col.  Gaillard 65 

Aiken,  Hon.  Wyatt 147 

Alaska   boundary   survey....l4,  25 
Arlington,    Va.     Burial   of    Col. 

Gaillard  145, 147, 149 

Army  and  Navy  Journal.  Edi- 
torial tribute  to  Col.  Gail- 
lard    93-95 

Atlanta  Constitution.     Tribute 

to  Col.  Gailard 104 

AvERiLL,  Capt.  Frank  L 146 

Averill,  Mrs.  Frank  L 146 

Babbitt,  Col.  Edwin  B 146 

Remarks   at  the  unveiling  of 

the    '84    West    Point    memorial 

tablet    155 

Baer,  Lieut.  Joseph  A.  Review  of 
Col.  Gaillard's  treatise  on  wave 
action  140 

Baker,  Charles  Whiting.  Letter 
to  the  New  York  Times....97-98 

Baltimore  American.  Comment 
upon  Col.  Gaillard's  work....    48 

Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard..  104 

Tribute   to    Col.    Gaillard,   by 

Hon.  L.  M.  Garrison 71 

Baltimore  News.  Comments  upon 
prompt  action  of  the  House  of 
Representatives   62-63 

Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard, 

104-105 
Barker,  Capt.  Walter  B.     Letter 

commending  service  of  Third  U. 

S.  Volunteer  Engineers.. 168-169 

Barney,  Lieut 146 

Bates,   Ellen Foreword 

Bates,  Lieut.-Gen.  John  C. 

Foreword,  147 

Praises  Third  U.  S.  Volunteer 

Engineers   16 

Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard..74-75 

Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  News.  Trib- 
ute to  Col.  Gaillard 105-106 


Baumgardner,  Lieut 146 

Beaumont,  Tex.,  Journal.  Trib- 
ute to  Col.  Gaillard 106-107 

Biddle,  Lieut.-Col.  John.  Letter 
commending  Third  U.  S.  Volun- 
teer  Engineers 167 

Bishop,  Joseph  Bucklin.  Excerpt 
from   "The    Panama   Gateway," 

44 
Black,  Lieut.  John  W.     Address 
at  banquet  of  Third  U.  S.  Vol- 
unteer Engineers,  1899 89-90 

Black,  Col.  William  M 147 

Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard..79-82 

Boston   Globe.     Tribute   to    Col. 

Gaillard   107-108 

Bostwick,  Dr.  A.  E Foreword 

Breckinridge,  Hon.  Henry  S..  146 
Bryce,  Hon.  James.   Excerpt  from 

his  "South   America" 44 

Quoted  104 

Buffalo    Engineer.      Tribute    to 

Col.    Gaillard 108 

Bunau-Varilla,  Philippe  Jean, 

27 

Burr,  Col.  Edward 147 

Byrnes,  Hon.  James  F 147 

Cabell,  Major  D'R 146 

Camp  Gaillard.     Named 153 

Canal  Record.  Official  order  of 
Gen.    Goethals    upon    death    of 

Col.  Gaillard 63-64 

Cedar  Rapids,  la.,  Gazette.  Trib- 
ute to  Col.  Gaillard 108-109 

Chaffee,  Lieut.-Gen.  Adna  R. 
Letter  commending  efficiency  of 

Col.    Gaillard 170 

Chicago  Evening  Post.     Tribute 

to  Col.  Gaillard 111-112 

Chicago    Tribune.      Tributes    to 

Col.  Gaillard 109-111 

Chittenden,     Brig.-Gen.    H.     M. 

Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard 77 

Church  of  the  Presidents 145 

Civil  War.  Gaillard's  serving  in 
Confederate  Cause 9 


183 


Clark,  Edward  B 146 

Describes    Gaillard    home    at 

Culebra   20 

Excerpt     from    an    article   in 

the  St.  Louis  Times 46-48 

Clark,  Mrs.  Edward  B 146 

Cleveland  Leader.  Tribute  to 
Col.  Gaillard 112-113 

Collier's  Weekly.  Editorial  trib- 
ute to  Col.  Gaillard 102 

Columbia,  5*.  C,  Record.  Tribute 
to   Col.  Gaillard 113 

Confederate  service.  Gaillards 
in  „ 9 

Cornish,   Vaughan.     Tribute    to 

Col.    Gaillard 101 

Cornwallis,  Lord.    Offer  to  Gen. 
Richard  Richardson  rejected     10 
Craig  HILL,  Brig. -Gen.  W.  P.   Let- 
ter    163-164 

Cuba.  Work  of  Third  U.  S.  Vol- 
unteer Engineers, 

15-17,  54,  128-129,  137 
Culebra  Cut.    Dimensions. .30,  42 

Drills    32 

Excavation, 

27-38,  41-48,  85-86,  105 

Geology  45 

Name    changed    to     Gaillard 

Cut  108,  153-155 

Slides 34-36,  42-44,  123-124 

Use  of  dynamite 33-34 

See  also  Panama  Canal. 

Gushing,  Dr.   Harvey 21 

Davenport,  la.,   Times.     Tribute 

to   Col.   Gaillard 114 

"David  and  Goliath."  Nicknames 
of  D.  D.  Gaillard  and  W.  L. 
Sibert  at  West  Point....l3-14, 125 

Davis,  Col.  Henry  C 12, 146 

Davis,  Katherine  Ross.  See  Gail- 
lard, Mrs.  Katherine  Ross  Davis. 
Davis,  R.  Means.     Assists  D.  D. 
Gaillard    to   enter   West    Point, 
12-14 
Dickinson,  Hon.  Jacob  M.   Trib- 
ute to  Col.  Gaillard 73-74 

DuBoSE,  Anne 8 

DuBose,  Capt.  David  St.  Pierre     9 
DuBosE,  David  St.  Pierre.  Grand- 
father of  D.  D.  Gaillard 11 


DuBosE,  Isaac.  Ancestor  of  D.  D. 
Gaillard   8-9 

DuBosE,  Louis 8 

DuBosE,  Adjutant  Samuel.  An- 
cestor of  D.  D.  Gaillard 8 

DuBosE,  Susan  Richardson.  See 
Gaillard,  Susan  Richardson  Du- 
Bose. 

Dunlap,  Rev.  E.  S 147 

Dynamite.  Use  in  Panama  Canal 
excavations  32-34 

Editorial  appreciation  of  Col. 
Gaillard   93-132 

Engineering  and  Contracting. 
Editorial  upon  D.  D.  Gaillard 
as  author  96-97 

Engineering  News.  Editorial  up- 
on the  death  of  Col.  Gaillard, 
99-100 

Engineering  Record.  Editorial 
upon  the  death  of  Col.  Gaillard, 

99 

Excavation  of  Panama  Canal.  See 
Panama  Canal — Culebra  Cut. 

Finley,  Hon.  David  E 147 

FiNLEY,  Mrs.  David  E 147 

FooTE,  Col.  Stephen  M.     Funeral 

of  Col.  Gaillard 145-150 

Gaillard  as  a  soldier 51-54 

FooTE,  Mrs.  Stephen  M 146 

Frankfort,  Ky.,  Journal.  Trib- 
ute to  Col.  Gaillard 114-115 

French  machinery.  Panama  Ca- 
nal excavations _ 27-28 

French  work  upon  Panama  Ca- 
nal   122 

Gaillard,  Capt.  Alfred 9 

Gaillard,  Daniel  S 9 

Gaillard,  Daniel  W 9 

Gaillard,  Col.  David  Dubose.  An- 
cestry  7-1 1 

Birth 11,  63 

Attends  Mount  Zion  Insti- 
tute       11 

Serves  as  clerk  in  store....     12 

Enters  competitive  examina- 
tion for  West  Point 12 

Teaches  classes  at  Mount  Zion 

Institute    13 

Graduates     with     honors     at 

West    Point 13 


184 


Commissioned   Second   Lieut. 

of   Engineers 14 

Officer,  Service  School  of  En- 
gineering, Willets  Point 14 

River  and  harbor  work.. 14, 25 

Married    to    Katherine     Ross 

Davis   14 

Member  of  the  International 

Commn.  for  the  establishment 
of  the  boundary  between  U.  S. 
and  Mexico  14, 25 

In  charge  of  Washington  Aq- 
ueduct  14,  25 

Service  in   Spanish-American 

War    15 

Service  on  the  General  Staff 

of  the  Army 19 

Member    of    Isthmian    Canal 

Commission 19,  26,  85 

Service  at  Panama, 

19,  26-38,  64,  84-86 

Home  at  Culebra 19-20,  82 

Illness, 

20-21,  47-48,  94,  109-110,  125-126 

Death  21 

-^-Funeral 145-150 

Pallbearers  147 

As  a  soldier 51-54 

As  an  engineer 25-38 

Author 96-97,  139 

Bibliography  of  his   writings, 

178 

Characteristics, 

79,  84,  87-89,  101 

Chronology  173 

Denied  the  sight  of  completed 

Panama  Canal 105-107,   113 

Investigations  of  wave  action 

upon  engineering  structures     17 
Letter  of  Gen.  A.  R.  Chaffee, 

commending  efficiency  170 

^Memorial  tablet.  West  Point, 

155 

Moral  influence 38 

Official  actions  taken  upon  the 

death  of  Col.  Gaillard 57-67 

Official  letters  relating  to  Col. 

Gaillard's  earlier  work....l63-170 

Personahty 54,  59,  86,  135 

Press  comment  upon  his  work, 

104-132 


Resolutions    upon    his    death, 

57-63 

Sketches  of  his  life, 

11-21,  135-139,  157-158 

Tributes  71-90 

Gaillard,  David  St.  Pierre.    Son 

of  D.  D.  Gaillard 11,  14 

Gaillard,  Lieut.  Edmund 9 

Gaillard,  H.  A 13 

Gaillard,  Isaac 9 

Gaillard,  John.   Living  1363..     7 

Gaillard,  Hon.  John 8 

Gaillard,   Mrs.    Katherine    Ross 

Davis  Foreword 

Letter  to  the  Third  U.  S.  Vol- 
unteer Engineer  Assoc... 148-150 

Tributes  to 20,  67,  82 

Gaillard,  Capt.  Peter.  Ancestor 
of  D.  D.   Gaillard.     Service  in 

Revolutionary  War  8 

Gaillard,  Col.  Peter  C 9 

Gaillard,  Pierre.    Ancestor  of  D. 

D.  Gaillard  8 

Gaillard,  Capt.  Richard 9 

Gaillard,  Serge  ant -Major  Samuel 
Isaac.  Father  of  D.  D.  Gail- 
lard  9,    11 

Gaillard,  Susan  Richardson  Du- 
Bose.  Mother  of  D.  D.  Gail- 
lard       11 

Gaillard,  Judge  Theodore 8 

Gaillard,  Warren  9 

Gaillard  Cut.    Named, 

19,  108,  153-155 

See  also  Culebra  Cut. 

Gaillard  family. 7-9,  11 

Gaillard  School  of  Engineering, 

Proposed  117 

Gaillards      educated      at      West 

Point   9 

Garrison,  Hon.  Lindley  M., 

145-146 

Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard....    71 

GeogrAiPhical   Journal.     Tribute 

by   Vaughan   Cornish 101 

Gillett,  Halbert  P.  David  Du- 
Bose  Gaillard,  author 96-97 

GoETHALS,  Lieut.-Col.  George  W. 
Appointed  member  of  Isthmian 
Canal  Commission 26 

Divides  work  upon  canal..    28 


185 


Official  order  upon   death  of 

Col.  Gaillard 63-64 

Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard..    72 

GoRGAS,  Major-Gen.  W.  C.  Gail- 
lard as  a  friend 82-83 

Grove,   Sergeant 146 

Hamilton,  Lieut 146 

Harding,  Lieut.-Col.  Chester..  147 
Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard..  87 

Harper's     Weekly.      Review,    by 

Jos.   A.   Baer 140 

Hingham,  Mass.,  Journal.  Trib- 
ute to  Col.  Gaillard 115-116 

Huguenot  ancestry  of  Col.  Gail- 
lard    7-8 

Huguenot  memorial  to  Col.  Gail- 
lard    156 

Human  Factor.  Editorial  trib- 
ute to  Col.  Gaillard 103 

Isthmian     Canal     Commission. 

Appointed  26,  51 

Jadwin,  Lieut.-Col.   Edgar....l9,  23 

Gaillard  as  an  engineer..25-38 

Jadwin,  Mrs.  Edgar 146 

Jefferson  Barracks,  Mo.  Third 
U.  S.  Volunteer  Engineers  mus- 
tered into  service 15,  130 

Johnson,  Hon.  Joseph  T.... 147 

Jones,  Constant  E 146 

Kipling,  Rudyard.  Prophecy  in 
regard  to  the  U.  S.  Engineering 

Corps   102 

Kuhn,  Lieut.-Col.  Joseph  E...  147 

Ladd,  Col.  E.  F 146 

Laird,  John  A 128 

Lamont,  Hon.  Daniel  S.     Letter, 

166 
Landslides.     See    Culebra    Cut. 

Langfitt,  Col.  William  C 147 

Lanier  memorial,  erected  by  Hu- 
guenot Soc.  of  S.  C 156 

Lee,   Gen.   W.   H.   F.     Huguenot 

memorial  to 156 

Leland,  Prof 12 

Lever,  Hon.  Asbury  F 147 

Lincoln,  Hon.  Robert  T.  Rules 
in  favor  of  Gaillard  in  contro- 
versy over  West  Point  appoint- 
ment       13 

Long,  James  A 146 


Los  Angeles  Tribune.  Verses  in 
memory  of  Col.  Gaillard 116 

Loving  Cup.  Presented  to  Col. 
Gaillard  90 

McKim,  Rev,  Randolph  H 147 

McMaster,  Fleming.  Gaillard 
serves  as  clerk  in  store  of....     12 

Mason,  Dr.  Charles 21 

Maury  memorial,  erected  by  the 
Huguenot  Soc.  of  S.  C 156 

Mearns,  Lieut.-Col.  Edgar  A.  147 

Meridian,  Miss.,  Star.  Tribute 
to  Col.  Gaillard 116-117 

Mexican  boundary  line.  Gaillard 
a  member  of  the  International 
Commn 14 

Letter    of    Ad j .-Gen.    George 

D.  Ruggles 163 

Letters  of  Hon.  Richard  01- 

ney    164-166 

Mount  Zion  Institute 11-12 

Muscatine,  la..  Journal.  Trib- 
ute to  Col.  Gaillard 117-118 

Nation.  Editorial  tribute  to  Col. 
Gaillard  103 

National  Geographic  Magazine. 
Excerpt  from  "Battling  with  the 
Panama  Slides,"  by  W.  J.  Sho- 
walter  42-43 

Negro  mutiny,  Macon,  Ga...53,  138 

New  Orleans  Times  Democrat. 
Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard..!  18-1 19 

New  York  Herald.  Tribute  to 
Col.    Gaillard 119-120 

New  York  Journal.  Tribute  to 
Col.    Gaillard 121-122 

New  York  Sun.  Tribute  to  Col. 
Gaillard  119 

New    York     Times.      Letter    of 

Charles  Whiting  Baker 97-98 

Sketch  of  Col.  Gaillard, 

135-139 

New  York  .Tribune.  Tribute  to 
Col.   Gaillard 120 

New  York  World.  Tribute  to 
Col.  Gaillard 121 

Nibben,  M 146 

Olney,  Hon.   Richard.     Letters, 
164-167 

Outlook.  Editorial  tribute  to 
Col.  Gaillard 102-103 


186 


Panama  Canal.  Cost  of  exca- 
vating   27-28, 

34,   37-38,   41,   94,   98,    105,    109 

Magnitude  of  work, 

41,  44-46,  66,  98 

Number  of  trains  handled  per 

day    30 

Plan    of    Pres.    Roosevelt    to 

secure  competent  engineers    51 

Twenty      thousand      workers 

stand  at  attention  five  minutes, 
at  time  of  funeral  of  Col.  Gail- 
lard  94 

Work  assigned  to  Army  En- 
gineers  19,    26 

See  also  Culebra  Cut — Gail- 
lard  Cut. 

Philadelphia  Bulletin.  Tribute 
to   Col.   Gaillard 122-124 

Philadelphia  Public  Ledger. 
Tribute  of  Major-Gen.  G.  W. 
Goethals  to  Col.  Gaillard....    72 

Portland  Channel,  Alaska, 

14,  163-164,  166-167 

Portland,  Ore.,  Journal.  Trib- 
ute to  Col.  Gaillard 124 

Press  comments  upon  Col.  Gail- 
lard   104-132 

Ragsdale,  Hon.  J.  Willard....  147 

Railway  and  Engineering  Re- 
view. Editorial  upon  the  death 
of  Col.  Gaillard 100 

Resolutions  upon  the  death  of 
Col.    Gaillard 57-63 

Revolutionary  War.  Ancestors 
of  Col.  Gaillard  serving  in..      8 

Richardson,  Dorcas  Neilson.  An- 
cestor of  D.  D.  Gaillard 11 

Richardson,  Hon.  J.  S 12 

Richardson,  Col.  Richard.  An- 
cestor of  D.  D.  Gaillard 8,  10 

Richardson,  Gen.  Richard.  An- 
cestor of  D.  D.  Gaillard.  Mem- 
ber of  the  Provincial  Congress, 

10 

Rejects  offer  of  Cornwallis, 

10 

Service  in  Revolutionary  War, 

8,  10 

Service  in  the  Cherokee  wars, 

9 

187 


Roosevelt,  Hon.  Theodore.  Ap- 
points Isthmian  Canal  Commis- 
sion  26,    51-52 

Plan  to  secure  competent  en- 
gineers for  Panama  Canal..    51 

Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard....    72 

RuGGLES,  Adj. -Gen.  George  D. 
Letter  163 

St.  Louis.  D.  D.  Gaillard  comes 
to  128 

St.  Louis  Globe-Democrat.  Trib- 
ute to  Col.  Gaillard 125-126 

St.  Louis  Republic.  Tribute  to 
Col.    Gaillard 126-131 

St.  Louis  Times.  Description  of 
Gaillard  home  at  Culebra....    20 

Excerpt  from  article  by  E.  B. 

Clark    46 

St.  Mark's  Parish.  Citizens  pre- 
sent Gen.  Richardson  with  serv- 
ice of  plate 10 

Sh after,  Major-Gen.  William  Ru- 
fus  15 

Show  alter,  William  Joseph.  Ex- 
cerpt from  "Battling  with  the 
Panama   Slides" 42'-43 

Sibert,  Brig.-Gen.  W.  L.  Ap- 
pointed member  of  Isthmian 
Canal  Commn 26 

Returns  to  Panama 146 

Roommate  of  D.  D.  Gaillard 

at  West  Point 13 

Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard..84-86 

Smith,  Hon.  Ellison  D 147 

Smith,  Mrs.  Ellison  D 147 

Smith,  Rev.  Roland  Cotton....  147 

Smith,   Rev.   Williamson 147 

South  Carolina.  Senator  pre- 
sents testimonials  to  Col.  Gail- 
lard   58-61 

Spanish-American  War.. 15,  51-54 
Spencer,  Brig.-Gen.  E.  J...128,  146 
Springfield  Daily  Republican. 
Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard..l24-125 
Steam  Shovel  and  Dredge.  Edi- 
torial  upon   the   death   of   Col. 

Gaillard   100-101 

Stevens,  John  F.  Resignation  as 
chief   engineer,   Panama   Canal, 

26 

Stimson,  Hon.  Henry  L.    Tribute 

to   Col.  Gaillard 7Z 


Styer,  Col.  Henry  D 146 

Taft,  Hon.  William  H.     Tribute 

to  Col.   Gaillard 72 

Taylor^  Lieut.-Col.  Harry 147 

Taylor,  Mrs.  Harry 146 

Third  United  States  Volunteer 
Engineers.  Committee  appoint- 
ed to  publish  memorial  to  Col. 

Gaillard    Foreword 

-Letter  of  Capt.  F.  W.  Wood- 
ring,  commending  service....  169 

Letter    of    Capt.     Walter     B. 

Barker,  commending  service, 

168-169 

Letter   of    Col.   John    Biddle, 

commending     its     conduct     in 

Cuba  167 

Letter  of  Gen.  John  M.  Wil- 
son, commending  work 168 

Record 15-17,  75 

Target  practice 53 

Tillman,  Hon.  Benjamin  R...  147 
Tillman,  Mrs.  Benjamin  R...  147 
U.  S.  Chief  of  Engineers.     Offi- 
cial  order   upon   death   of   Col. 

Gaillard  65 

Corps  of  Engineers.    Tribute 

to  Col.  Gaillard  in  Professional 

Papers   95 

Prophecy      of      Rudyard 

Kipling    concerning 102 

House    of     Representatives. 

Resolution    upon   the    death    of 

Col.  Gaillard 61-63,  158-159 

Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mitted. Report  of  the  work 
of  Col.  Gaillard,  by  WilHam  C. 

Adamson    65 

Senate.    Resolution  upon  the 

death  of  Col.  Gaillard..57-61, 159 
Van  Ornum,  Prof.  J.  L.    Tribute 

to   Col.   Gaillard 88-89 

Wade,  Gen.  James  F 15 

Walke,  Col.  Willoughby.  Tribute 
to   Col.   Gaillard 87-88 


Washington,  Martha.  Huguenot 
memorial  tablet  erected  to..  156 

Washington    (City)    Aqueduct, 

14,25 

Washington  Times.  Tributes  to 
Col.  Gaillard 131-132 

Wave  Action  upon  engineering 
structures 17,  139 

Weber,  Frank  J.    Sounds  "Taps," 

148-149 

West  Point.     Gaillards  educated 

at 9 

Training   17 

Class  of  '84  Bulletin.     Cu- 

lebra  Cut 41 

Whaley,  Hon.  Richard  S 147 

WiLLETTS.  Point,  A^.  Y.  D.  D. 
Gaillard,  officer  in  Service  School 
of   Engineering 14 

Williamson,   Sidney   B 28 

Wilmington,  J9^/.,  Journal.  Trib- 
ute to  Col.  Gaillard 132 

Wilson,  Brig.-Gen.  James  H. 
Commends  Third  U.  S.  Volun- 
teer   Engineers 16 

Describes  Col.  Gaillard's  in- 
vestigations of  wave  action  upon 

engineering    structures 17 

Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard..7S-77 

Wilson,  Brig.-Gen.  John  M...  147 

Letter   commending  work   of 

Third    U.    S.    Volunteer    Engi- 
neers    168 

Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard..    78 

Wilson,  Hon.  Woodrow....l45-146 
Wilson,  Mrs.  Woodrow.... 145-146 
Wood,  Major-Gen.  Leonard, 

137, 146 
WooDRiNG,    Capt.    F.    W.     Letter 
commending  Third  U.   S.  Vol- 
unteer  Engineers 169 

Wotherspoon,  Major-Gen.  W.  W. 
Tribute  to  Col.  Gaillard 78 


188 


^ 


